By Laxman Poudel
Bhairahawa, Nov 3 :Import of clinker from India has been completely stopped from the current fiscal year 2019/20 as the country became self-reliant in producing cement raw material.
A decade ago, all domestic cement factories except for two government owned ones, used to import clinkers to produce cement. But according to industrialists of Repandehi district, the domestically produced clinkers have been sufficient to Nepali cement factories.

“The country has now been self-reliant in clinker and the dependency on India has thus been removed,” said Rajesh Agrawal, industrialist and member of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI).

The increase in clinker production in Nepal with the establishment of more cement factories has helped stop import of raw materials from India, he said.
According to Agrawal, the domestic cement industries use around 7 million tonnes of clinkers every year. Five years ago, around 90 per cent of domestic demand of clinker used to be fulfilled from Indian product.

With the gradual decline in the import of clinker, it has now reduced to zero in the current fiscal year 2019/20.
Information officer at the Bhairahawa Customs Office Kaliram Poudel said that import of clinker did not take place in first three months of the current fiscal year.
In last fiscal year, imported clinker had contributed 15 per cent to the total domestic demand.

Bhairahawa Customs Office was one of the important gateways for the import of clinker from India. Out of the total import of clinker, 40 per cent and 30 per cent import had taken place through Bhairahawa Customs Office in fiscal year 2017/18 and 2018/19 respectively.

With the increase in production in the domestic market, the import of clinker had declined by Rs. 35 billion last year.
According to industrialist, complete stoppage of clinker import form India will now save country’s Rs. 65 billion.

With the plenty of limestone in Chure area, many cement industries having their own clinker production have been established around it.
Agrakhanchi Cement, Sonapur, Ghorahi, Subhashree Agni Cement, Hongshi Shivam Cement, Srbotam Cement Cosmos Cement and Maruti Cement are major private cement industries having their own clinkers.

These industries have also been supplying their clinkers to other cement industries.