Nepal signs G2G agreement with India on chemical fertiliser import after efforts of 1.5 years

Nepal has secured a government-to-government deal with India for the import of chemical fertilisers after more than a year of work.

Chemical fertiliser shortages have been one of the most serious issues facing Nepal’s agriculture industry in recent years. The government has attempted to mitigate the situation in a number of ways, but the most of them have failed.

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Nepal’s Agriculture Secretary, and Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, India’s Chemical and Fertilizer Secretary, inked a virtual agreement in this regard on Monday.

According to Nepal’s Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Prakash Kumar Sanjel, the arrangement calls for Nepal to import 150,000-210,000 metric tonnes of urea and DAP chemical fertilisers per year. In all, Nepal will import 935,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertiliser during the next five years.

However, the agreement does not specify particular prices for fertiliser imports, just that India will import it at the same pace as it purchases it.

According to Sanjel, the two nations would establish a new forum to tackle the cost problem.