January 3: Even though Nepali cement industries have started exporting their products to India, export has not increased as expected.

Businessmen themselves admit that five and a half months have passed since Palpa Cement Industries dispatched cement to India. 

Palpa Cement exported 3000 sacks of Tansen brand cement to India for the first time. Before that, no Nepali company had exported cement. With the entry of Nepali cement in the Indian market, many people predicted that its export would increase and the trade deficit would decrease.

Three months after Palpa Cement started exporting its products, Argakhanchi Cement Limited exported 1,400 sacks of cement. This added strength to the expectation that the trade deficit would decrease.

However, since then, no new industry has been able to export cement. Although the companies have continued exporting, the volume is not encouraging.

Dhruba Thapa, president of the Nepal Cement Producers Association, said that the new companies have not been able to export cement due to the delay in obtaining the Indian quality mark. 

“As soon as the quality mark is obtained, other manufacturers will also start exporting cement. We will export a lot by the end of this fiscal year. The situation will improve even more from next year," said  Thapa.

He said that because Nepal's cement is of higher quality than that of India, there will be plenty of markets.

Rajesh Agarwal, the owner of Palpa Cement, said that rising prices in the country have added challenges and competition. The price of diesel in Nepal is 25 per cent higher than that in India. Because of this, the cost of transportation is increasing, making cement more expensive.

Agarwal said that some policies of the Nepal government are affecting the cement industry.