The Importers Association of Nepal (IAN) has asked the government to provide it time till November to label the imported goods with full details of the importer and the market distributor. However, the government, while unveiling the fiscal budget for the year 2023/24 has said it is mandatory to put labels with clear details of importer and distributor on imported goods from July 17, the start of the new fiscal year. While the association has agreed that the labeling of imported goods will help prevent unauthorised imports and distribution of goods in the local market, it says this would add a huge challenge to the importers and distributors to put labels at short notice.

A large amount of fake, date expired or unauthorised goods are imported, especially from India through the open border. In the latest case, food inspecting officials briefed Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha how dead chickens were being smuggled into Nepal during night time and sold as fresh ones in the local market. The IAN said the importers will have to manage a separate office and staff to label and apply the stickers, which will ultimately affect the consumers. This kind of logic from the IAN is, however, unacceptable. International rules demand that each and every product bear a label with clear dates of manufacture and expiry.

Some of the suggestions put forth by the IAN are, however, noteworthy, such as identifying genuine importers and issuing distribution licences to control unauthorised imports.

However, the licensed importers cannot escape from their responsibility of labeling the goods that they import.

The goods which have a short shelf-life should have labeling with information details so that consumers can decide whether to buy them or not. There are also reports galore that traders change the original stickers and date of manufacture if they are not sold in the market within their shelf-life. As suggested by the IAN, the government should strictly monitor to ensure whether or not unauthorised importers are also importing goods misusing the porous border between Nepal and India.

Mandatory labelling of imported goods apart, the customs offices should also make their quarantine offices effective when it comes to checking the perishable items, such as green vegetables, potatoes, onions, fruits, meat or fish that are mainly imported from India without following the due customs regulations.

The latest instance of the dead chickens being smuggled into Nepal from India on a daily basis shows how poor our security system and quarantine offices are. These perishable goods cannot be labelled with details of information. But they can be at least tested in the designated laboratories before such items are allowed to enter the country.

Smuggling of dead chickens and rotten fish from India has had negative impact on Nepal's poultry and fish industry, for which the country has become self-reliant. The poultry and fish business will collapse if such goods are allowed to enter the country unchecked. Every consumer has the right to know about the goods that they consume or use on a daily basis. Therefore, the government should strictly implement the decision of mandatory labelling the goods imported.

Build libraries

For those who grew up in the seventies and eighties, long before the proliferation of social media, reading was a favourite pastime. Not anymore. With endless social media platforms - from Instagram and Youtube to TikTok and WhatsApp - at our disposal, the habit of picking up a novel and reading it has all but been lost. Just like speaking and listening, reading is important to develop language skills. While social media has allowed information on any topic to become readily accessible, when it is used solely for entertainment purpose, it does little to expand one's horizon or knowledge.

If today's youths cannot be coaxed into reading a physical book or novel, it can be made available in digital form – both audio and video. This will help set the habit of reading from a very young age. Libraries have never been a priority of any government in Nepal, and even today it lacks a good one. For a start, Kathmandu's dynamic mayor could take the initiative to build libraries in each of the wards. Other municipalities would then follow suit. Instead of the ward offices renting out space for commercial purposes, they should be nudged into building libraries for students and community members to study and interact.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 22, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.