Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...

N T I S2010EU countries, special priority is given to harmonizing national standards with ISO and the standards used bythese major trading partners. The NBSM typically follows the ISO/IEC procedures when developing nationalstandards and classifies them according to the International Classification of Standards (ICS). The numberof product standards and process/system standards set and adopted by the Nepal Standard Council (NSC) isshown in Table 7.1.Table 7.1Nepal Standards Adopted by the Nepal Standard Council (NSC)Area Product Standards Process Standards Vocabulary terminology Total StandardsFood primary 24 24Processed Food 106 106Agri-inputs 7 7other agricultural products 15 15Non-agricultural products 90 90Packaging 21 21Construction 49 49Electrical 18 18Others 90 90Process Standards 408 408Vocabulary 30 30All total standards 858Source: NBSM (as of Dec. 2009)Of the 420 product standards adopted by the NSC, only 24 apply to the export potentials identified inChapter 2.Technical RegulationsOf all standards set by the NSC so far, only six are related to safety for export trade and have been mademandatory. 7 In common parlance, mandatory standards are called technical regulations. Out of the six, fiveare technical regulations relating to products and one to a code of practice. They are: Ordinary Portland Cement (NS:49) Galvanised Corrugated Sheet (NS:141) Galvanised Coated Mild Steel Wire (NS:163) Deformed Steel Bar and Wires for Concrete Reinforcement (NS:191) Dry Cell and Battery (NS:280) Code of Practice for LPG cylinder (NS:376)Under the mandatory food law and regulation, 101 technical regulations have been prepared (Table 7.2) andnine additional technical regulations are in the pipeline. These cover major food items, including export tradefood and agricultural products such as large cardamom, ginger, honey, tea, coffee, pasta/instant noodles,lentil, etc.7NBSM, 2010: home page http://www.nbsm.gov.np and personnel interviews and information collection172NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT