Kathmandu (PTI): Nepalese traders are increasingly smuggling fertilisers from India as the products are available at a much cheaper price in the neighbouring country, officials said here on Tuesday.

Out of Nepal's total annual demand of 350,000 metric tonne fertilisers, around 70 per cent are illegally brought into the country, said Govinda Bhattarai, a senior official employed with the govt-owned Agricultural Inputs Company (AIC).

The price difference is so stark that while Urea can be purchased at Rs 4,800 per tonne in India, it costs more than Rs 12,000 in the local market here.

"Nepal entirely depends on India to meet its demand for fertilisers as there is no single chemical fertiliser plant in the country. Traders purchase Urea at subsidised rates in India and sells it at half the price of what the government is charging here," he said.

The AIC had a stock of 10,000 tonnes of fertiliser but it could not sell more than 7,000 tonnes in 2007-08 period.

"We have to purchase Urea for Rs 12,000 per tonne at market price from India and after adding transport costs and local taxes it is sold for NRs 24,700 or IRs 15,440 per tonne.

"But as the same quantity is available at the local market at half the rate, people rarely purchases from us," Bhattarai said.

In the border areas like Birgunj and Biratnagar, hundreds of people daily bring fertilisers on bi-cycle, usually two sacks at once, from across the border to sell in the local market, the official said.