August 29-30, 2018 Bangkok, Thailand

NEPAL COUNTRY REPORT

45TH Executive Council Meeting Federation of Asia-Pacific Aircargo Associations

Nepal Freight Forwarders Association

Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA), a national organization of Freight Forwarders of Nepal was established in 1998 AD as non-political, nonprofit making, non-government association. NEFFA’S Mission is to facilitate international trade by delivering goods at destination in an efficient and most effective manner Services are provided by NEFFA: • To represent the freight forwarding community in national and international forums. • To provide expert services to freight forwards. • To coordinate and report the activities of NEFFA to concerned agencies and institutions. • To establish relationship with similar national and international associations. • To liaise with government and public sectors. • To settle dispute and realize credit. • To provide Airport and Land customs handling agent service. • To collect and publicize data, statistics and news about freight forwarding industry. • Provide its expertise to Government of Nepal on its policy and Acts related to Transport and International Business.

NEFFA Executive Committee Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) celebrated its 18thAnnual General Meeting & Election of Executive Committee on April 20th, 2018 successfully in Kathmandu, Nepal. During the event new executive committee has been elected under the chairmanship of Mr. Prakash Singh Karki for 2 years tenure.

Executive Committee 2018-2020 Mr. Prakash Singh Karki : President Mr. Rajan Sharma : I.P. President Mr. Manoj Adhikari : 1st Vice President Mr. Rajendra Sangraula : 2nd Vice President Mr. Sundar Prasad Dahal : General Secretary Mr. Naresh Kumar Agrawal : Treasurer Mr. Balaram Banjara : Secretary Mr. Hari Dhakal : Joint Treasurer Mr. Ishwor Bahadur Gurung : E.C. Member Mr. Sujan Kumar Neupane : E.C. Member Mr. Pranil M.S Pradhan : E.C. Member Mr. Sanjeev Aryal : E.C. Member Mrs. Sita Adhikari : E.C. Member Mr. Sahadev Banjara : E.C. Member Mr. Manish Man Shrestha : E.C. Member Mr. Gangaram Pudasaini : E.C. Member Mr. Ganga Bahadur Raya : E.C. Member

NEFFA Sub Committees 2018-2020 Advisory Committee Air Cargo Committee Land Sea Committee Dispute Settlement Committee Membership & Publication Committee International Relation Committee

Training & Capacity Enhancement Committee

NEFFA Current Member NEFFA has current 116 General Member and 7 Associated Member.

National & International Affiliation NEFFA had always prioritizing cordial relation with domestic and international government and non-governmental organization for the benefit of its member and Freight forwarding industry. NEFFA President is Ex officio Board member for Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board, which is a government organization to oversee the economical and efficient management of Inland Clearance Depots (ICDs) for facilitation of Nepal's foreign trade. Trade Facilitations NEFFA has collaborated with the Government of Nepal in providing technical support and advice in Trade facilitation and in the formulation of Multimodal Transportation Act, Carriage of Goods by Road Act, Railway Act and the Marine Insurance Act. Nepal also made exporting and importing easier by implementing ASYCUDA World, an electronic data interchange system. Nepal has recently made progress in institutional reforms on several fronts. Different committees are working on the implementation of Single window and trade facilitation measures are being taken. NEFFA is a part of different committees of trade facilitation. As per the World Bank report Ease of doing business index is 105 compare to last year index of 107. The Key Organizations:

• Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) • Federation of Asia-Pacific Air Cargo Associations (FAPAA) • International Federation of Customs Brokers Association (IFCBA)

NEFFA and Affiliation with Government and Private Sector:

• Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supplies • Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation • Ministry of Physical Infrastructure & Transport • Department of Customs • Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board • Nepal Tourism Board • Narcotic Control Bureau • Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) • United Nation Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (UNESCAP) • Asian Development Bank (ADB) • World Bank Group

Nepal – Country Profile: Nepal, the Himalayan country of Asia has its border with China on the North and India on South, East & West. It is located between latitude 26 degree 22 minutes North to 30 degree 27 minutes North and longitude 80 degree 4 minutes East to 88 degree 12 minutes East. Being land locked country the sea access is about 1150 Km. from the border. Ecologically the country is divided into three regions running east to west i.e. the Mountains, the Hills & the Terai. The Mountain area lies at an altitude ranging from 4877 meters to 8848 meters above the sea level. It constitutes the 15% total area of Nepal. Most of the high snow capped mountains including world's highest peak Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha) are

located in this region. The Hills the middle region that covers the 64% of total area lies between the altitude ranging between 610 meters and 4877 meters above the sea level. This region has numerous attractive valleys, basins, lakes and hills. The Terai region that is low flat land situated along the southern side of the country. Most of the fertile lands and dense forest area of the country are located in these regions. This region covers 17.1% areas of the country. Climate: The climate of the country varies with its topography. The climate ranges from tropical to arctic varying with the altitude. The Himalayan Mountain region with an altitude above 3353 meter has alpine climate with considerably low temperature in winter. The mid land region are pleasant all the year. The Terai region has hot humid climate. Nepal has four seasons: Spring: March, April, May Summer: June, July, August Autumn: September, October, November Winter: December, January, February Time: GMT+ 5hrs 45 min. Ports: There are four ICD’s in Nepal which are in operation and are located at Birgunj, Biratnagar , Kakadbhitta and Bhairahawa. The Birgunj ICD is the only ICD with Railway connectivity. Other ICD’s at Larcha & Rasuwagadi ( near Chinese Border), Dodhara Chandni and Kathmandu is under constructions. Nearest Sea Port: Kolkata, Haldia & Vishakhapatnam, (India) Mongla (Bangladesh) Air: Nepal has one International Airport at Kathmandu and 44 airfields. Another two International Airports at Pokhara and Nijgarh is under construction. International Airlines like Biman Bangladesh, US Bangla, China Southern Airlines, Druk Airlines, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Oman Airlines, Qatar Airways, Dragon Airways, Fly Dubai, Thai Airlines etc. operates out of Kathmandu. Various domestic carriers are also in operation for domestic flights. Railways: There is only one passenger railway in Nepal. This 59 km broad gauge railway runs between Janakpur in Nepal and Jainagar in India, a border towns between the two nations. This extension work upto Bardibaas is under way which will connect Eastern part with Western part of Nepal in near future. Survey work is in process for a railway connectivity of east to west Nepal, and with India & China to connect Kathmandu with railway network. Several Indian Railways lines cross nearby the Nepal border. There is a joint Nepalese/Indian railway line connecting Raxaul (Indian/Nepalese border) and Sirsiya (Nepal) allowing container traffic to Sirsiya dry port.

24th Cargo Day Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) celebrated its 24th Cargo Day program on 29thJuly, 2018 at Hyatt Hotel, Kathmandu. Rt. Hon'ble Vice President of Nepal Mr. Nanda Bahadur Pun inaugurate the 24th Cargo Day Program by lighting the LAMP of the event. In the program the NEFFA Annual Award was given to Mr. Padam Prasad Pokhrel for his life time contributions for the development and progress of the Freight industry. Similarly, the NEFFA Annual Award in category of Government/Non Government Sector was awarded to the H.E. Eaknarayan Aryal – Consul General, Consulate General of Nepal & Mr. Dinesh Shrestha – Chairperson Province No. 3, Federation of

Nepalese Chamber of Commerce & Industry for their contributions in the development of Nepali Trade industries. Similarly, On-line and off-line carriers were awarded based on the tonnage carried for outbound freight movements from Nepal. Opportunities in Nepal’s Freight Industry: Nepal is the second largest country in water resources and rich in natural beauty. There is lots of business opportunity in Hydro Electricity, Tourism, infrastructure development & herbal products manufacturing etc. The FDI friendly policy is in place. Air Cargo Export: Year 2015 2016 2017

Total Weight (in Tons) 13943.333 11501.389 11569.771 Source: Nepal Transit & Warehousing Co. Ltd.

Foreign Trade Balance of Nepal:

Export of NTIS Products:

Comparison of Trade Partners of Nepal 2017/18:

Comparison of Total Exports of Some Major Commodities: In the first eleven month of the F.Y. 2016/17 & 2017/18

Comparison of Total Imports of Some Major Commodities: In the first eleven month of the F.Y. 2016/17 & 2017/18

Data Source: Trade and Export Promotion Center

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