India expresses concerns over growing export of soybean oil from Nepal to India

Published Mar 21, 2021

Tridge summary

India has raised concerns about the increasing export of soybean oil from Nepal, a country with low production of the necessary raw materials, and has requested authentication on the product from Nepali authorities. This action comes after India's decision to ban the import of palm oil from Nepal, and follows a pattern of non-tariff measures imposed by India on Nepali products, such as tea, ginger, and herbal products, which see significant export revenue for Nepal. Nepal has been taking advantage of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) provisions to export these products to India, under which India is required to allow goods exported from underdeveloped countries like Nepal to enter duty-free if at least 30% of the product's value is added within the country.

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Original content

KATHMANDU, March 21: India has expressed concern over growing export of soybean oil from Nepal to India even as Nepal has extremely low production of its raw materials. Sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian government has sought an authentication on the product from Nepali authority on the Operational Certification Procedure for rules of origin under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), said the ministry officials. The move of the Indian authority comes amid its decision earlier to impose a ban on the import of palm oil from Nepal. Nepal has been facing a number of non-tariff measures from the Indian government on the Nepali products when their export to India starts seeing a surge. Apart from palm oil, Nepal has been facing similar obstruction in tea, ginger and herbal products from the fast growing economic giant in the region. Refined palm oil has been in the major export list of Nepal in the past few years. In 2019/20, export of this product ...

Source: Nagariknetwork