The Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) has expressed serious concerns over problems related to land transportation due to the rise of politicaldisturbances in the region.

It said that exports by land transport have totally collapsed, which has caused a great loss to exporters as well as the freight forwarders. The export sector of Nepal, which contributes immensely to the national budget with huge foreign exchange earnings, has been hit hard over the past one year due to increased political disturbances. NEFFA said in a statement that regular blockades leading to customs points have adversely affected exports as more than 80 percent of the exports go by land transport. Even‘checked passed’ or cleared shipmentsare reaching the India-Nepal border customs more than a week late.

Due to high export growth in China and India, transhipment centres in Singapore and Colombo remain heavily loaded with huge numbers of cargo loads, which has resulted in low priority levels for Nepali goods passing through these points. According to NEFFA, the government and the relevant authorities should take the matter seriously to resolve the problems faced by the Nepali exporters and freight forwarders. It has asked the government to set up a task force to look into the matter with an intervention by the concerned minister and stake holders.