With the permission of the Indian government, tomatoes from Nepal have started reaching the Indian market via Bhairahawa Customs.
This is the first time that Nepali tomatoes have been officially exported to India through the Bhairahawa border.
The Diamond International Siddharthanagar has started exporting Nepali tomatoes to Trisagar Farmer Producer Company Limited of Uttar Pradesh, India. When Nepali tomatoes are exported to India, they are exported free of duty to bordering Indian customs. There is no charge for export in Nepali customs as well.
Director of Diamond International Siddharthanagar Sonu Khan said that the Nepali tomatoes produced in Kapurkot of Salyan, which come to Bhairahawa, were exported to India from there.
“It has not been possible to provide Nepali tomatoes as per the demand from India,” said Khan. “At this time, traders from Lucknow and Gorakhpur have requested for Nepali tomatoes, but we are not able to provide tomatoes as per the demand.”
According to him, Nepali tomatoes are sold in India for IRs. 100 per kg.
Earlier, India had included tomatoes in the list of banned imports from Nepal.
Due to the shortage of tomatoes in India and import restrictions, Nepali tomatoes used to go to India illegally from Nepal, as they were sold at high prices.
According to the Bhairahawa Customs Office, Nepali tomatoes have started going to India through the Bhairahawa border since August 13, 2023.
Information Officer of Bhairahawa Customs Office Yuvaraj Bhattarai said that seven tonnes of Nepali tomatoes were exported to India through Bhairahawa checkpoint three times in a week.
When Nepali tomatoes are exported to India, there is a provision that the Nepali Quarantine Office at the border must certify that they are free of disease and insects.
“This is the first time that Nepali tomatoes have been officially exported to India through this border,” said Kuldeep Ghimire, head of Plant Quarantine Belahiya, Rupandehi.
A few days ago, the local government took action against some Indian employees regarding illegal import of Nepali tomatoes to India.
