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Business leaders demand to revoke countervailing duty on Pashmina
KATHMANDU, JAN 05 - Entrepreneurs today asked the government to make necessary efforts to revoke countervailing duty imposed by the Indian government on Nepali pashmina to enhance its export to India.
Following the imposition of 16 percent duty, Nepali pashmina export to India has come to a standstill from about two months.
Speaking at the fourth annual general meeting of Nepal Pashmina Industry Association (NPIA), they also stressed on the need to look at tapping the local markets, as demand for the pashmina products has been constantly swelling in the country.
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Hari Bahadur Basnet, meanwhile, asked the pashmina producers and exporters to enhance competitiveness and efficiency to enable themselves sustain within World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework.
"We should be self-reliant on raw materials needed for the pashmina products to achieve desired goal," he added. He also highlighted roles played by the pashmina industry in the country’s economic development, particularly by generating foreign currency and generating employment for a large number of people.
Speaking on the occasion, Shankar Prasad Pandey, President of NPIA said that the pashmina entrepreneurs should lay emphasis on quality to place their products in the international markets.
"As the cheaper pashmina products of the neighbouring countries have slowly been substituting Nepali products, we have to be more sensitive to quality aspect," he said, "otherwise, we will face threat of displacement from the international markets."
On the occasion, Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, asked the government to develop a mechanism that ensure immediate return of Value Added Tax imposed on the exportable goods.
Likewise, Kalyan Krishna Tamrakar, President of Nepal Handicraft Industries Association said that the export of Nepali pashmina has drastically decreased in the recent years due to decline in quality.
"Nepal had exported the pashmina worth Rs 5. 6 billion in 2000, but it was reduced to a mere Rs 980 million in 2002," said he.Posted on: 2004-01-06 04:31
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