The opening up of European Union markets to the export of "everything but arms" from Least Developed Countries has presented Nepal with the possibility of exporting some 9,000 tons of unprocessed sugar. The government has already given the National Trading Corporation (NTL) permission to explore the possibility of sending the first consignment sometime in April next year. If that happens and the price is right, the EU decision may give the country's 11 sugar producers something to aim for. It would also give some respite to bankers who've put their money into the ailing sugar mills that have barely been able to produce enough to meet domestic supply, especially during the festival season.