force majeure (fors ma-zhər) [Law French “a superior force”] (1883) An event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled; esp., an unexpected event that prevents someone from doing or completing something that he or she had agreed or officially planned to do. • The term includes both acts of nature (e.g., floods and hurricanes) and acts of people (e.g., riots, strikes, and wars). — Also termed force majesture; vis major; superior force. Cf. act of god; vis major (1). Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014).
I will leave to others with more expertise the political intricacies of the current fuel crisis in Nepal. I know that it is not as clear cut as anyone has tried to make it. But I want to speak on one thing I know for sure: the current situation is no longer merely a short-term crisis.
Besides fuel, food, medical supplies for hospitals, and other basic necessities for those, not only in Kathmandu, but–critically–also Nepalis in the areas of Nepal already hardest hit by April’s earthquakes, there are things stuck at the India border and Nepal’s seaport in Kolkata that you cannot put directly into your fuel tank or belly, but will nevertheless have long-lasting consequences for Nepal.
Take, for example, agricultural fertilizers.
The shortage of fuel itself has already affected the price of fruits and vegetables. Without vehicle to transport their goods to market, farmers are forced to sell locally at rock-bottom prices or see their unsold crops rot. Meanwhile, where the highest demand for such goods remains unfulfilled, prices have risen sharply. Listen to Nepali women talk about prices after returning from the market, and you will hear their conversations punctuated by gasps of “Amee!” or “Ram!”
But this is only the beginning.
The fertilizer suppliers’ ships stuck at the port are currently racking up huge demurrage charges. Those ships are not able to offload their goods and be put back into service. These losses they pass back on to the fertilizer suppliers. Even if there were space at the port for storing such goods, the costs associated with long-term storage due to the border disruptions were never anticipated at the time contracts were made for such fertilizers. Hence, the force majeure.
Whether it is the shipper, the shipping company, the buyer, or their insurers that pick up the initial tab, the increased costs will be passed on to (1) those who buy fertilizers, i.e., farmers and eventually (2) those who buy the fruits and vegetables grown using the fertilizer: the Nepali people.
This means that current blockade has already begun to affect next season’s crops. Already high prices will remain high next year or even rise. It may be time to go organic even if not by choice.
In the long run this most affects those least able to pay. And this is what they have to look forward to after surviving this winter without the fuel necessary to carry out the much-needed earthquake relief efforts on their behalf.
(Photo: Andrew Priest)
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