Nepali products losing identity in the absence of barcodes

Nepali exportable products are failing to establish themselves in the international market in the absence of national barcode. As many such products are using barcodes of foreign countries, they are failing to establish themselves as Nepali products. “We have failed to establish our products among international consumers and suppliers in the absence of our own barcode issued by GS1 - the Global Language of Business,” said Jeevan Devi Kansakar, director at Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries. GS1 is internationally recognized non-profit association which provides applicant organization the internationally recognized national barcode identity. Initial three digits in the 14-digit barcode is the country code. Though FNCCI initiated the process to get national barcode from GS1, Nepal is yet to get its national barcode.“We are trying to apprise the export-oriented industries and exporters the importance of barcodes,” Kansakar said, adding, “We have also been collecting the names of such industries to submit to GS1 and establish GS1 Nepal here.” Once GS1 Nepal is established, it will issue barcodes to Nepali products. International customers purchase products by scanning their features, including the place of the production, manufacturing and expiry dates and prices, by barcode readers. In the absence of Nepali barcode, many exporters are using barcodes issued by GS1 India and other countries. Talking to this daily, Biswas Rai, operation manager of CG Foods Nepal, confirmed that they were using GS1 India barcodes with 890 prefix in five Wai-Wai exportable brands. He, however, didn´t buy arguments that the products with Indian barcodes carry Indian identity. “Our products carry the name of our company - CG Foods Nepal. It gives Nepali identity,” maintained Rai. Meanwhile, a delegate of Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries said he felt embarrassed when the visitors and the US importers, at an exhibition of Nepali handicraft products held in Philadelphia two weeks ago, asked him why Nepali products didn´t have barcodes. “We have now realized the importance of barcodes,” Shyam Prasad Giri, senior vice president of FNCSI, told Republica. “We will initially use barcodes provided by our importers until we have our own barcode.” According to GS1, applicant organizations need to pay registration fee of 15,000 euros as well as certain amount of money as levy for each barcode issued. “Likewise, companies will have to comply with quality assurance as required by GS1,” added Kansakar. Industry Secretary Krishna Gyawali said he was unaware of the existence of national barcodes.