Kathmandu, January 26
The Nepal Flour Mills Association has laid concerns over 20 per cent of flour mills closing down in a week and remaining 80 per cent on the verge of shutting down in the near future as there has been an extreme shortage of flour in the market following the restrictions on wheat exports by India since May of last year.
Issuing a statement today, the association has requested the Nepal government to make necessary preparations for the procurement of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat from India as permitted by the Indian government as soon as possible.
As flour is widely used for making biscuits, noodles, bakery items and food items in eateries and restaurants, the difficulty in meeting the demand has left flour traders and mill operators worried.
"As the flour industries are buying wheat from the market at a high price, the price of flour has inflated affecting all sectors, including consumers.
Since mill operators are not in a position to supply flour in the market, the government should make necessary preparations to import the assigned quota of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat from India immediately to ease the market situation," the statement reads.
The association has also said that the market will still require about 200,000 metric tonnes of wheat to meet flour demand in the market for the next three months.
In December, the Foreign Trade General Directorate of India had permitted the export of 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Nepal till March 31, 2023 after requests were made by stakeholders through official channels.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
