KATHMANDU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The government on Thursday said that Nepal has become self reliant on meat, egg, power milk and butter to meet minimum dietary needs of the country due to growing production of these products over the last few years.
Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced that the Himalayan country has been self-reliant on these animal products at a function in the capital Kathmandu. "As Nepal is becoming self-reliant on a number of livestock products, the country should now focus on exporting them," Oli said.
According to Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the domestic supply of the meat, egg, power milk and butter is higher than minimum dietary needs as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the United Nations.
According to the ministry, domestic supply of meat is 18 kg per person per year against the minimum dietary need of 14 kg per person per year as per the FAO recommendation. Domestic supply of eggs is 55 pieces per person per year against the need for 48 pieces per person per year.
"By increasing the domestic production, Nepal has been able to achieve import substitution in butter and power milk," Shreeram Ghimire, spokesperson at the agriculture ministry told Xinhua on Thursday.
According to the ministry, the country is also on the road to achieve self sufficiency in milk too. "Domestic supply of milk per person is 79 litres against the requirement of 91 litres per person as per the FAO recommendation," the ministry said in a press statement.
On Thursday, Nepal's prime minister also unveiled a "Strategic Plan for reforming the Livestock and Fishery Sectors" which has aimed to make the country self reliant on all the livestock products and enable the country to export them within the next five years.
According to the ministry, Nepal's livestock production has grown substantially in the recent years. As a result, import of live animals has decreased substantially, the ministry said. Enditem