Bhutan Vanaspati floods market
After Nepal and Sri Lanka, it’s now Bhutan’s turn to eat into the
domestic vanaspati retail market, pushing local vanaspati producers to
the brink.
Vanaspati has figured on Bhutan’s list of top exported items after
power and copper. The country has exported vanaspati worth Nu
1.38billion (Rs 140 crore) in 2006, as evident from Bhutan’s
international trade figures.
Vanaspati, a major hydrogenated form of palm oil, is a popular
cooking medium. But several international trade treaties and import duty
structures have put domestic manufacturers in deep trouble.
Nepal is the biggest overseas entrant in the vanaspati market here
and officially exports over 70,000 million tonne of the product
annually. This does not include supplies through the grey market, which
could be double the official exports.
On one hand, imports of palm oil, the main raw material for vanaspati,
is duty-free in Nepal. On the other hand, exports of it to India - up to
1 lakh million tonne per annum - is export duty-free.
“This makes Nepalese vanaspati much cheaper in India. Starting from
Uttar Pradesh to Darjeeling - along the entire Indo-Nepal border - it is
hard to find any place not invaded by Nepal’s brands of vanaspatis,”
said senior members of the Indian Vanaspati Producers Association.
Imports of Sri Lankan vanaspati is also duty-free and manufacturers
there too enjoy a favourable duty structure, making their brands cheaper
at around Rs 10 per kg in India. Nearly 2 lakh million tonne of Lankan
vanaspati comes to India per annum Economic Times. |