1,300 tonnes of fertiliser stranded at Tatopani customs

By Our Correspondent,Sindhupalchowk, Mar. 14: Around 1,300 tonnes of chemical fertiliser has been stocked in the warehouse of the Tatopani Customs Office for eight months. 

A total of 2,600 sacks of fertiliser weighing 50 kg each, which have been lying in the open warehouse of the Tatopani Dry Port Customs Office for a long time, have almost become unusable.

Customs Officer of the Tatopani Dry Port Customs Office Surya Prasad Kafle said that the chemical fertiliser was stranded at the customs office due to a dispute between the Agricultural Inputs Company Limited  (AICL) and the importers over the price. 

A joint venture of Sinomax-Silk Market and another firm had imported the fertiliser from China. 

Fertiliser of the same amount was stuck in the warehouse for about one and a half years in the last fiscal year as well. However, the fertiliser was later supplied to the capital by mutual agreement between the importers and the AICL.

 But this time, the fertiliser has been stuck after the dispute between the AICL and the importers remained unresolved for a long time.

A case was filed in the High Court regarding the price of fertiliser. The court has ordered both to resolve the fertiliser issue through mutual understanding. 

As per the court order, the AICL and the importers will have to resolve the problem through a coordinated manner and supply the fertiliser to the capital. But so far, there has been no coordination between them and the fertiliser has remained in the stock of the warehouse. 

While a big quantity of fertiliser has remained stranded at the port, farmers have not been able to get fertiliser in the country. 

Tatopani Customs Office has not seized the fertiliser and sent it to the capital. 

According to the Customs Office, it has not been given the authority to seize it except for inspection and customs clearance. 

Kafle said that the Office urged the AICL and the importers to quickly resolve the dispute and supply it to the capital by clearing customs at the earliest. 

The Customs Office will give clearance only after the AICL-appointed lab technicians conduct a lab test of the fertiliser to determine whether it is suitable for use on crops.

The AICL will have to accept the fertiliser only after the laboratory tests show it is suitable to use in crops.

Customs Officer Kafle said that the fertiliser would be inspected if all the procedures were completed according to the consignment. 

But so far, no agreement has been reached between the two parties. Therefore, until the fertiliser is stored in the customs warehouse, there is a problem in storing other goods in the customs, he said.