Kathmandu: Nepali flour producers are urging the government to request India to provide 200,000 tonnes of wheat as the industry is facing a shortage of the commodity as around 80-85% of Nepali flour mills have been shut down due to shortage, according to thewire.
Since India imposed a ban on wheat exports last May, the Nepali flour mills are struggling to operate.
For the second straight year, wheat output in India is likely to be affected due to heat waves in northern and central India during the crop ripening period, according to Reuters.
This would trim wheat output by 4 to 5 million tonnes in India and this drop has made the Nepali flour industry nervous.
Dinesh Kumar Agrawal, senior vice-president of the Nepal Flour Mills Association said, “The flour prices will rise if India ends the quota system under the pretext of declined output.”
For Nepal, India has set a quota of 50,000 tonnes of wheat. We have received 33,000 tonnes of wheat so far and we are not sure whether we will receive the remaining 17,000 tonnes, he said.
