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Jhapa is the largest tea producing district of Nepal. Thousands of farmers and laborers are on tea farming. But, the government has been turning deaf ear to address the challenges facing the sector, local tea producers accused. General Secretary of the Nepal Tea Producers Association Shiva Kumar Gupta said the government has not been providing chemical fertilizers for tea farming since 2021. Nepal has been annually earning millions of foreign currency by exporting tea. He said that the tea producers have been compelled to import chemical fertilizers through illegal ways. Those involved in tea production vented their ire at the government for showing apathy towards providing chemical fertilizers for tea farming. The tea producers have been asking for government facilitation in accessing chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers such as Urea, DAP, Potassium and Ammonia Sulfate are required for tea estate. Gupta said the government used to distribute fertilizers before 2020. Since then, tea farmers have not received chemical fertilizers on quota, he added. Tea producers also urged the National Tea and Coffee Development Board to take initiatives for addressing the issues related to chemical fertilizers. They also asked the agencies, including Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Agriculture Inputs Company and Salt Trading to play a coordinating role in addressing the gaps. Gupta said that fertilizers can be provided to small tea producers by registering cooperative dealers and to the big tea companies by stipulating quota through federal or provincial governments. Tea farming is being carried out in an area of 10,500 hectares of land in the district. It annually needs 1,500 metric tons of chemical fertilizers, said Chief of National Tea and Coffee Development Board, Regional Office, Birtamodh, Indra Adhikari. The government was not paying any heed to their demand for chemical fertilizers, commented Joint-Secretary of Tea Producers' Association Binaya Kumar Goyal.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 1. 54 points to close at 2,096.08 points on Sunday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1. 89 points to close at 400. 26 points. A total of 5,206,370 unit shares of 258 companies were traded for Rs 1. 93 billion. Meanwhile, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 02 trillion.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 2, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 104, 100 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 106, 100 per tola on Friday. Meanwhile, the tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 103, 600 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is fixed at Rs 1, 320 per tola today, the Association said.  

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 400 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 106, 100 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 107, 500 per tola on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 105, 600 per tola. It was traded at Rs 107, 000 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 30 and is being traded at Rs 1,365 per tola today.