Lockdown to continue, essential industries to open from Friday

The government has extended the lockdown period – as recommended by the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 yesterday – keeping the suspension on international flights and sealing border till May end, but some essential industries will be allowed to start their operation from Friday.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers today decided to extend the term of nationwide coronavirus-lockdown till May 18, confirmed finance minister, who is also information and communication technology minster, Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada. “But some 42 industries of essential nature will be allowed to operate from Friday with adequate health precautions,” he said, adding that they have to maintain social distance, employees must use mask and sanitiser. “These industries can make one-third of their employees work at a time.”
The industries related to food and food processing, water, biscuits, tea, sugar, LP Gas, ginger, bread, confectionery, paintings, press, electricity fittings to construction related industries will be allowed to operate from Friday, Khatiwada said, adding that the party palaces, malls that do not sell food and food products, gym, temples, mosque, church, and training programmes are however not allowed to operate.
A meeting of the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19 yesterday – in the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli – had reviewed measures taken to prevent the spread of the pandemic and the impact of the ongoing lockdown. It has concluded that the lockdown has been effective in controlling coronavirus from spreading. But the economy has been bleeding as the industries have been closed since March 24. When the government first announced the lockdown, Nepal had reported just two Covid-19 cases. But this week alone, 23 new cases have been reported, with the national tally reaching 99, though there have been no deaths so far.
With the sixth extension of lockdown from day after, Nepal will be under lockdown for almost two months until a different modality of rules and restrictions is decided upon. The country has lost around Rs 300 billion due to a lockdown in the last a-month-and-half which has halted economic activities in the country.
The committee has decided to recommend the government to further extend the lockdown, but allow some economic activities to start as the government coffer is drying due to loss of revenue, reduction of remittance inflow and plummeting export, apart from tourism that seems to take minimum half year to revive.
The length of the lockdown imposed on March 24, which saw the most recent extension on April 27, is maturing tomorrow, the committee had suggested to categorise areas as green, orange and red, but the Prime Minister was not convinced saying that it is not the right time to relax lockdown on the basis of categorisation, as Covid- 19 cases continued to rise in India and in certain districts of Nepal bordering India, and also in Nepal.
Critics say the government failed to utilise the lockdown over the last six weeks to step up measures to trace and treat and find ways to gradually lift lockdown.
The cabinet meeting also decided to tighten entry points to Kathmandu and keep records of those who need to travel for emergency situations like for health checkups, Khatiwada added.

Government fixes support price of coffee

The National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) – on the occasion of the 15th National Coffee Day – today fixed the support price of coffee for the current fiscal year.
Celebrating the National Coffee Day in Gulmi today, NTCDB has set the support price for six varieties of coffee, according to the board that has fixed the price of fresh cherry ‘A’ grade coffee (organic certified) at Rs 85 per kg while ‘B’ grade coffee (organic uncertified) Rs 75 per kg, Rs 5 less than last year. “Last year, price of ‘A’ grade fresh cherry and ‘B’ grade fresh cherry is set at Rs 85 per kg and Rs 80 per kg, respectively.”
Likewise, the board has set Rs 425 per kg for parchment ‘A’ grade coffee and Rs 375 per kg for parchment ‘B’ grade coffee. Last year, the price was settled at Rs 425 per kg and Rs 410 per kg for ‘A’ grade parchment coffee and ‘B’ grade parchment coffee, respectively.
Likewise, the board has set Rs 140 per kg for dry cherry ‘A’ grade coffee and Rs 90 per kg for dry cherry ‘B’ grade coffee. In previous year price of ‘A’ grade and ‘B’ grade dry cherry was set at Rs 140 per kg and Rs 100 per kg, respectively.
The board fixes the floor price annually to ensure that farmers get a reasonable rate for their crop and are not exploited by middlemen in the supply chain. The coffee farmers, however, say that they have no complaints about the reduction in the minimum support price for this year, but they want the government to formulate policy to increase production to benefit from rising market demand.
According to the board, the price of coffee has been fixed based on the investment cost of coffee farming. Currently, coffee farming is done on around 61,228 hectares of land. However, a total of 1.1 million hectares of land across the country is suitable for coffee farming, according to the board. Some districts like Gulmi, Palpa, Argakhanchi, Lalitpur, Tanahu, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk, Lamjung, Kaski, Gorkha, Syangja, Parbat and Baglung are successfully growing and producing coffee beans and production has been increasing gradually.
According to the board, Nepal exported a total of 530 tonnes of coffee in the last fiscal year while in the fiscal year 2017-18 a total of 513 tonnes of coffee had been exported to different countries. While the country had exported coffee worth Rs 996 million, coffee worth Rs 980 million had been imported in the last fiscal year. Nepal is exporting coffee beans mostly to Japan, America and European countries.
Due to surge in demand, the earnings from coffee export increased by 6.28 per cent compared to a a rise of 49 per cent of coffee imports in the fiscal year 2018-19.
Nepal exported Rs 99.61 million worth of coffee in the last fiscal year – up from Rs 93.72 million in a fiscal year ago in 2017-18, according to the board. “During the period, Nepal imported coffee worth Rs 65.89 million and Rs 98.01 million, respectively.”
Nepal imported eight-folds to 1,262 tonnes in the review period, whereas exports remained fairly stable at 84 tonnes, which means Nepali coffee is expensive than imported coffee. Nepal coffee is recognised as one of the high value agri products in the international market. Nepali product costs up to $10 per kg abroad.
Coffee is grown in 42 districts of Nepal that produces and exports Arabica coffee, which is typically grown at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. According to the board, Nepal produced 530 tonnes of coffee in the fiscal year 2018-19, compared to 513 tonnes in the fiscal year 2017-18.
According to Trade and Private Sector Development Project – a European Union-funded programme –1.19 million hectares of land in Nepal is suitable for coffee farming. “Of them, some 61,228 hectares have the potential to give high yields,” it revealed, adding that Nepal is utilising only 4 per cent of the acreage potential.

Kavrepalanchowk tops in coffee production

Among the 77 districts, Kavrepalanchowk district tops in coffee production, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
According to a report 'Nepal Commercial Coffee Farming Survey 2018-19' released today in Kathmandu by the CBS, Kavrepalanchowk district holds the top position in the list of the highest coffee farming areas with 104.3 hectares land used for farming followed by 96.3 hectares and 94.1 hectares in Lalitpur and Syangja districts, respectively.
“Kavrepalanchowk, the largest producer amongst the 32 districts, produces 221 metric tonnes of fresh coffee cherries, followed by Syangja with 158 metric tonnes and Sindhupalchowk with 141 metric tonnes of fresh coffee cherries,” the report reads, adding that a total of 1,573 metric tonnes of fresh coffee cherries are produced annually in 32 districts commercially.
According to the survey done in a year – from April 14, 2018 to April 13, 2019 – some 6,346 farmers from 32 districts are engaged in the coffee farming in 973 hectares land.
“Farmers owning 50 or more coffee trees have been considered commercial farmers in the survey,” director of CBS Badri Karki said, adding that a total of 943 commercial farmers, the highest from Kavrepalanchowk followed by Sindhupalchowk, 753 and Syangja, 708 farmers in the respective districts.
The CBS data also revealed that 96 per cent of coffee farmers are engaged in organic coffee farming, of which 9 per cent are certified firms, 34 per cent are cooperative or company certified and 57 per cent are operating without any certification. “Of the surveyed farmers, 74 per cent of them are male and 26 per cent are female.”
But only 1.7 per cent of farmers have registered their businesses, the CBS report reads, adding that some 83 per cent commercial coffee farmers are found to have been shifted from agricultural occupation (other than coffee farming), some 3 per cent from business, 10 per cent from the day job and 4 per cent from other occupations. “Only 2.8 per cent of coffee farmers have opted for a bank loans for the business, whereas 11 per cent of commercial coffee farmers consider coffee farming as their main source of income>”
According to CBS, of the surveyed participants, half of them do not know about the minimum price of coffee determined by the government. “The expenses of Rs 2.56 million on purchase of coffee plants, 2.87 million on fertilizers and 9.17 million under the head of others were recorded for coffee farming.”
While Rs 154.1 million was earned from 1573 metric tonnes of fresh coffee cherries and Rs 29.7 million from shade-grown coffee and Rs 16 million from underground crops. At least 78 per cent of commercial coffee farmers have received training regarding coffee farming.
The CBS has identified 55 coffee nurseries in Nepal through the survey. The report also has collected suggestions from farmers regarding the promotion of coffee farming in Nepal. Quality technological service, access to irrigation, training and study facility, market for produced coffee and subsidy for coffee farming are among the suggestions from the farmers reported the CBS.
According to National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), lack of lab in Nepal – despite the coffees produced here are of better quality due to climatic conditions – has hit the coffee export that is a cash crop.

Tea estate workers in east demand minimum wages

Tea estate workers in the eastern region started protest against factory owners as they have not implemented the monthly minimum wage and social security scheme, though tea factory owners have been claiming that the rule is not applicable to the tea industry as it requires seasonal workers only, not full time as in other industries.
The new labour and social security laws have guaranteed the minimum wages and social security to the workers. The government has made it mandatory for employers to pay industrial workers a minimum wage of Rs 385 daily and create a social security fund by this fiscal year but tea factories have not yet implemented the rule. However, the tea factory owners are complaining that the tea industry should not be in the 'industrial category' as it requires only seasonal workers.
The workers have intensified their protest against tea factory owners for not implementing the Labour Act, according to the central president of the Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Tea Estate Workers Association.
The tea factory owners have been paying their workers only Rs 278 for the last nine months – claiming that they are seasonal workers – through the workers have been demanding the government fixed the minimum daily wage at Rs 385 for industrial workers.
Only two tea factories in Dhankuta and three in Ilam have implemented the new law, according to the president of All Nepal Tea Workers Association. The government had formed a high level committee to study the tea sector last year. Its report has not yet been made public.
The Nepal Tea Producers Association said that it would be forced to shut down the factory if the industries implemented the law and paid the minimum wages fixed by the government. However, the tea producers claimed that the tea industry globally had separate labour laws. The industry is governed by the Tea Labour Regulation 1994.
According to the new Labour Act, employers require to provide a provident fund equal to 10 per cent of the basic salary for temporary employees and bonus. The previous law had provisioned a 5 per cent provident fund but only to permanent workers. There are nearly 50,000 tea workers in five districts in the eastern region.

Majority tea farmers borrow from cooperatives, pay higher interest

Tea farmers prefer local cooperative organisations despite of their higher interest rates, according to a report.
As the villagers do not have access to the commercial banks, majority of tea farmers prefer local cooperative organisations to borrow and also on higher interest rates, according to study conducted by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in association with Nepal Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB).
Among the farmers, who have taken loans, some 48.3 per cent have borrowed from cooperatives, some 23.6 per cent from banks and financial institutions and some 14.6 per cent from Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), the report reads, adding that some 3.9 per cent have taken personal loans whereas 9.6 per cent of tea farmers have taken loan from ‘other’ sources for their business.
Indeed, the data shows only few farmers are taking bank loans,” said executive director of NTCDB Shashikanta Gautam unveiling the report. Loan certainly plays a huge role in expanding business, he added.
Although tea has been considered one of the most competitive products of the country, most of the tea farmers are uninterested in expanding their business. "Only five per cent of tea farmers are taking loans to expand their business," the survey further reads, "more than half of the tea farmers were satisfied with their income and business."
According to the report, there are 9,236 tea gardens in country that produce over 2.2 million tonnes of tea every year. "Tea industry provides direct and indirect employment to more than 300,000 people."
The report also shows that 82 per cent of farmers have been cultivating tea on less than one hectare of land while only 0.8 per cent of farmers are cultivating tea on more than 20 hectares of land. "Commercial tea farming is being carried out on 12,065 hectares of land across the country in 14 districts – Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Dhankuta, Terhathum, Panchthar, Ilam, Jhapa, Morang, Dolkha, Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot, Lalitpur, and Ramechhap – with a total yield of 100 million tonnes of green leaves annually. Of them Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar, Dhankuta and Tehrathum are the top five districts in terms of commercial tea production."
Every year, the country exports tea to other countries worth around Rs 3 billion. A total of 18,180 farmers are involved in tea farming directly or indirectly – some 9,374 are male while 8,807 are female. The farmers are collectively earning up to Rs 1.76 billion annually.
The report also revealed that tea farmers have been unable to get reasonable price. The tea farmers across the country are deprived of a reasonable price for their produce due to lack of proper price fixation mechanism, resulting in sluggish growth of the tea industry in the country, it reports.
Currently, tea price is fixed through consensus between farmers and factory owners.
The board has tried to fix minimum price of tea in 2015 but could not be implemented after both farmers and factory owners remained at odds over the rate.
He said that it is necessary to fix the minimum support price for tea every year as the Tea and Coffee Development Board Act, 1993 does not allow it to set base price for tea. "We are authorised only to recommend the support price for tea, while government has been giving less priority to address problems being witnessed in the tea industry," Gautam added.
The report has also highlighted the need to identify and explore potential markets for Nepali tea, subsidise tea farmers in green leaves, fertilisers and machinery, ensure availability of farming technologies at the local level and irrigation facilities and ensure availability of loans to tea farmers at a reasonable interest rate.

Price of large cardamom up

The price of large cardamom, one of the high value cash crops and export commodities, has been looking up recently in the eastern region.

"The price of large cardamom in Birtamod of Jhapa — the key market in the east — has gone up to Rs 1,500 per kg," according to the president of Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs' Association of Nepal, Taplejung chapter Khadga Bahadur Moktan.

Taplejung is the major grower of large cardamom in Nepal.

The number of farmers involved in large cardamom cultivation in the country stands at around 33,000. Though large cardamom is a promising crop to utilise the marginal and semi marginal lands in the mid hills, protect the greenery — because large cardamom requires shade — generate employment and boost the economy, it has not been able to receive proper attention and assistance as compared to other commodities.

Market promotional activities and basic infrastructure like road, collection centres, godowns, packaging and branding, exploration of new markets and extension services are lacking. Yet, the lucrative cash crop has been gaining popularity among farmers in the mid hills and in other districts too.

Though it is cultivated in nearly 37 districts of mid hill region, 97 per cent of large cardamom cultivation is, however, concentrated in seven districts of the Eastern Development Region — Taplejung, Panchthar, Ilam, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Terhathum and Sankhuwasabha, according to production statistics.

However, data from the Trade and Export Centre (TEPC) reveals that the export of cardamom has dropped by 1.6 per cent. "The country had exported cardamom worth Rs 2.67 billion in the first nine months of the last fiscal year 2011-12," it said, adding that the export stood at Rs 2.63 billion in the same period of the current fiscal year. "However, in the last fiscal year, the total export of 5.31 million kg had fetched the country Rs 3.49 billion."

Cardamom is one of the largest export earners among the cash crops, followed by lentils, tea and ginger.

"The current price hike might fetch the country more earnings," said Moktan, adding that in recent months the price of cardamom has been steadily increasing.

The export

Commodity – 2011-12 – 2012-13

Cardamom – Rs 2.67 billion – Rs 2.63

Lentils – Rs 1.77 billion – Rs 2.37 billion

Tea – Rs 992.96 million – Rs 1.35 billion

(Prices of nine months of respective fiscal years. Source: Trade and Export Promotion Centre)

Tea export up by 36.1 per cent

NATIONAL TEA DAY
 
Nepal exported tea worth Rs 1.24 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).
The export is some 36.7 per cent more than exports in the same period of last fiscal year, when the country had exported tea worth Rs 911.19 million.
The country exported some 6.92 million kg of tea till mid-February, the TEPC data revealed, adding that in the same period last fiscal, the country had exported some 5.68 million kg of tea. "In the last fiscal year 2011-12, the country had exported some 9.19 million kg tea worth Rs 1.57 billion."
Trade Policy 2009 and Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010 have identified several agricultural products including tea as potential goods for export.
Farmers in 12 districts — Ilam, Panchthar, Terhathum, Jhapa, Dhankuta, Udayapur, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha, Lalitpur, Dolakha, Kaski and Nuwakot — are involved in commercial tea farming, whereas in recent years, with growing demand farmers have been inclined towards organic tea. Some tea farmers have also been recognised as organic tea producers by international institutions.
Tea — one of the key exports of the country — is estimated to account for around 0.5 per cent of the total world tea output, according to the National Tea and Coffee Development Board which said that India, Pakistan, Germany, France, Holland, Japan, Belgium and the US are the key importers of Nepali tea.
Climatic conditions are suitable for orthodox tea in the hilly region and Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) in the Tarai. There are around 140 registered tea estates which contribute 85 per cent to the national production volume, it said. "The country has 40 tea processing factories in the private sector, which produce both orthodox and CTC tea."
The country has been observing National Tea Day since 1997 on Baisakh 15 every year, though lately the government has not been much involved in the celebration due to the private sector's domination in the sector.
Himalayan Tea Producers Co-operative (HIMCOOP) — the marketing wing of Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers Association (HOTPA) — has been assisting the marketing of Nepali tea abroad as in 2006, HOTPA implemented the Code of Conduct to increase the standard of Nepali orthodox tea to the international level.
Had the government been able to implement National Tea Policy 2000, according to Vision 2020, total tea production by 2020 could be around 54.7 million kg, of which CTC 22.5 million kg and Orthodox 32.2 million kg, apart from the total area tea cultivation could be 62,800 hectares.

Tea producers seek soft loan facility

Tea producers have asked the central bank to help protect the Nepali tea sector.
"The tea sector is hit hard by the high interest charged by banks and financial institutions," Himalayan Orthodox Tea Producers Association's president Uday Chapagain told the central bank governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada today.
Unlike other industries, the tea sector requires 80 per cent investment on labour, is a traditional agro-based industry and weather dependent produce, he said, adding that they want soft loans at seven per cent interest which is a must to sustain the industry in the long run.
Apart from the lower interest rate, the tea producers also asked for simplified procedure to get cash incentives. "We want the cash incentives based on total exports earnings in foreign currency," said Nepal Tea Producers Association president Binay Goel.
Both the associations apprised the governor of the problems and challenges the tea producers are currently facing. "We also need Indian currency to import machinery from India," they said, adding that the central bank should introduce a policy that will facilitate them in exchanging some of the foreign currency they earn to Indian currency.
Answering the delegation, the governor said that the government is planning to bring a package for tea producers as it is one of the products that has competitive advantages. "But the government is discussing on whether to provide them incentives or subsidy," he said, adding that the government has given priority to the agriculture sector.
However, the government cannot provide subsidy to all and is thus thinking of risk minimisation to give agro products a more competitive edge, said Khatiwada, adding that the central bank recently brought the interest serving period in line with the crop cycle. "Similarly, from the next fiscal year, the interest rate will also come down," the governor added.
According to the central bank, the country has exported tea worth Rs 172.8 million to third countries in the first eight months of the current fiscal year which is more than double the exports worth Rs 74.4 million in the same period last fiscal year. "Similarly, in the same period of the fiscal year 2009-10, the country had exported tea worth Rs 60.7 million to third countries except India."

Singapore scientists find tea is good for brain

A cup of tea is good for the brain by slowing down cell degeneration and keeping the mind sharp into old age, a published report stated today.A four-year long study by scientists in Singapore adds to tea's long-touted virtues. Any type of tea will do, Ng Tze Pin, a professor with the National University of Singapore's psychological medicine department told The Sunday Times.
"Tea is cheap, non-toxic and widely consumed," Ng was quoted as saying. The university's scientists found that catechins, a natural compound in tea, protects brain cells from damaging protein build-up over the years, maintaining the brain's cognitive capability.
The caffeine in tea, unlike that in coffee, contains the natural protein theanine which counters the normal side effects of caffeine such as raised blood pressure, headaches and tiredness, the scientists said.
Brain-cell degeneration, caused by a combination of loss of nerve cells, predisposed genes, small strokes and increased levels of harmful protein build-up, often leads to dementia, the report stated.
The team of scientists studied the tea habits of 2,501 Chinese aged 55 and above from September 2003 to December 2005.Participants' health, attention span, language use and visual and spatial abilities were assessed. Their tea consumption was monitored. About 38 per cent did not have tea, while 29 per cent drank only one kind and the rest consumed a mix of teas.
Two-thirds of the tea drinkers maintained their scores on the same memory tests two years later. Among the non-tea drinkers, 35 per cent saw a drop in their scores by an average of two points, signifying cognitive decline.
Tea was the distinguishing factor keeping brain cell energised. The drink alone cannot do the job. "It still means a lifetime of good habits and a balanced diet," Ng said. -- DPA

Nepal coffee to have its own logo

Nepali coffee is soon going to have its own logo to represent the Himalayan organic flavour in the global market.

The National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) — a government agency for development and promotion of tea and coffee farming and marketing — has already prepared a logo for the Nepali coffee.

The logo, which depicts beans and steaming coffee with mountain in background and 'Himalayan Specialty' written on top and 'Nepal Coffee' on bottom, will come into practice following the approval of a board meeting of NTCDB scheduled for next week.

"The national logo will help the product for branding and creating its niche market," says Binaya Kumar Mishra, executive director at the NTCDB, adding that the demand of Nepali organic coffee in the international market has gone up significantly in the last couple of years.

According to him, the board is also planning to issue directives for the implementation of the National Coffee Policy-2060. It will spell out a numerous issues related to coffee farming, plucking of coffee beans, processing, production, quality control and packaging. All these should be at par with the international standards and guidelines issued by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), adds Mishra, while talking to this daily.

The directive also has highlighted a need for creating database of coffee related institution, cooperatives, setting up mechanism for product development, market promotion and branding and providing training farmers, supporting on human resource development activities and consultation.

It also envisions Coffee Development Fund to provide technical and financial help to the concerned stakeholders. The fund will be jointly administered by the government and private sector.

Although Nepal has seven decade long history of coffee plantation, the commercial farming began only 25 years ago. Today coffee is commercial grown in 23 districts that covers 1400 hectares of land.

The mountain slopes of Nepal's mid-hill region with an altitude ranging from 800m to 1600m is climatically suited for coffee plantation. Arabic species of coffee is grown in Nepal, mostly in western hilly districts of Gulmi, Arghakhanchi and Palpa.

With growing popularity of the Nepali organic coffee in domestic as well as international markets, the production is also steadily growing. According to NTCDB figures, the production of dry cherry jumped to 115 metric tonnes (MT) in 2005 from 85 MT in 2003. It is expected to cross 272 MT this year.

The demand for Nepali coffee is ever growing, as 65 per cent of the total production of coffee is already being exported to the international markets like Japan, EU, Korea and USA. Considering the future potential, the board has already launched a pilot programme to promote commercial coffee farming in hilly districts of western Nepal.The coffee exports, in volume, began from 2002 and Nepal exported coffee worth Rs 40.11 million during the fiscal year 2006-07.