December 14: It has been 12 years since the government announced the apple self-sufficiency programme. The programme was announced to make the country self-sufficient in apple production by discouraging the import of apples. However, the country still meets its domestic demand by importing apples. Due to the dependence on imports, consumers in Nepal have to pay Rs 50 more for a kilogram of apples even during the peak season.

Nepal imports apples from India, China, Indonesia, Turkey and America. Nepal imports 70,000 to 80,000 metric tons of apples worth Rs 7 billion annually.

According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 52,753 metric tons of apples were produced in the country in the fiscal year 2078/79 on 13,813 hectares of land. This is only about half of the imports. In the previous year, the cultivation area and production were even less.

When domestic production is unable to meet the domestic demand, the government increases the price of imported apples to discourage imports. Professor of Economics Dr Bed Prasad Acharya said that this will lead to a price hike and shortage of apples. He argues that the government should not introduce a programme to discourage imports as the programme to become self-sufficient in apple production is ineffective.

Recently, the data from the Department of Customs has shown that the import of apples from India and third countries has started to decrease. In the year 2077/78, most apples were imported from China. In that year, 70,799 metric tons of apples were imported from China and 18,188 metric tons from India. Similarly, 1.8 metric tons of apples were imported from Indonesia, 9.9 metric tons from Turkey and 58.4 metric tons from America.

In the year 2077/78, a total of 89,058 tons of apples were imported into the country. In the year 2078/79, apple import seems to have declined compared to the previous year. It seems that 86,796 tons of apples were imported that year. Import of apples decreased in the year 2079/80 as well with 83,274 tons of apples being imported from abroad.

According to Ankit Sharma, information officer of the Biratnagar Customs Office, the import of apples has decreased due to the economic recession and the introduction of VAT by the government. Importing apples from third countries incurs a tax of 24.5 per cent, including 10 per cent customs duty, 13 per cent value-added tax and 1.5 per cent advance income tax.

Importing apples from India is taxed at 23.5 per cent, including a 9 per cent agrarian reform fee, 13 per cent value-added tax and 1.5 per cent advance income tax.

Bijay Sah, the owner of New Jagdamba Fruit Centre, an apple importer, said earlier that all food was imported by paying a 15 per cent tax. He said that the price has increased by Rs 30 to 50 per kilo because the government has increased the tax to 27 per cent.