Nepali traders said that Nepal has been failing to take benefits from the duty free entry facility provided by China in some 4,810 items due to poor infrastructure in the custom points.

Speaking at an interaction organised by Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCCI) on Thursday, Nepali entrepreneurs said that Nepal has not been able to promote and boost its exportable products even though China has provided such facility of zero tariff on Nepali goods.

On the occasion, Zhu Wei, second secretary at the Chinese Embassy also said that Nepal can decrease its trade deficit with China through the zero tariff facility. However, Nepal has been failing to benefit from such facility provided by China, he added.

Director General of the Department of Custom (DoC) Rana Bahadur Shrestha said that the department will look forward to solve the issues of customs to boost Nepali products facilitating the entrepreneurs by improving the custom points.

Shrestha also said that the department will introduce e-bidding system in the custom points for transparency in the trade soon.

Similarly, Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, president of the NCCCI also urged the government to provide certain incentives in customs for the traders along with improving the infrastructure in the custom points.

According to the available data, Nepal had exported goods worth Rs 746 million to China while it imported goods worth Rs. 45.63 billion during the fiscal year 2010/11. nepalnews.com