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Nepali products’ export to China halted due to demand for Chinese label

Kathmandu, December 18

For the past three months, Nepal has failed to export various goods to China after Chinese officials demanded that the Nepali suppliers write information on the product labels in Chinese, customs officials inform.

The chief of Rasuwagadhi Customs Office in Rasuwa, a major route of bilateral trade, Punya Bikram Khadka, says the export of food products in particular has been halted since September. Chinese customs officials have been claiming that most residents of the border area do not understand both Nepali and English, hence claiming that the labels should be written in Chinese.

Officials also claim that the Chinese traders’ demand is against provisions of Nepal-China bilateral trade agreements. Nevertheless, the Nepali officers have also stopped various goods being imported from China which had information in Chinese language only. Nepal’s quality standard and quarantine laws require labels to be in either Nepali or in English.

Just a few months back, trade officials of the two countries had held a meeting at Tatopani border point, and they had agreed to accept English-language labels. However, lower officials of Chinese government have not followed the agreement yet, according to Khadka.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Bhattarai, the spokesperson at the Ministry of Commerce, says the government has written to its Chinese counterpart about the issue.

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