MONEY»
Handicraft exports down 15pc
KATHMANDU, AUG 18 -
The export of Nepali handicraft goods to four major markets witnessed a decline in the last fiscal year.
Exporters said internal and external factors such as the government's sluggish efforts to promote exports, lack of adequate infrastructure and the global recession were mainly responsible for the slowdown in handicraft exports in FY 2009/10.
The US, Germany, the UK and Japan are the four major markets for Nepali handicraft accounting for more than 50 percent of the market share. Exports to all these four markets registered a drop in the last fiscal year. The annual statistics of the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) show exports to these four countries dipped by around 15 percent in 2009/10. Nepal exported handicraft worth Rs 1.42 billion in 2009/10 compared to Rs. 1.66 billion in 2008/09. A fall in exports to the major markets contributed to an overall decline in handicraft exports in FY 2009/10. Exports slipped to Rs. 2.78 billion in FY 2009/10 from Rs. 3.02 billon in the previous year. The decline in exports resulted in a huge balance of payments problem during the second half of the last fiscal year.
FHAN president Bikash Ratna Dhakhwa blamed the global economic recession for the slowdown in Nepal's handicraft exports. Global exports faced a sharp decline during the recession in 2008/09 from which the global economy is still struggling to recover.
"The major importers of Nepali handicraft products showed less interest in placing orders with the purchasing power of their customers being badly affected by the economic slump," he said. Dhakhwa also blamed government agencies for not actively promoting Nepali goods abroad, a charge which officials of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) rejected outright. TEPC executive director Ramesh Kumar Shrestha said that lack of fumigation treatment of wooden goods and lack of adequate manpower caused a decline in their export. He added that the government was ready to extend any kind of support to promote the export of handcrafts.
The most prominent importer of Nepali handicraft products, the US, imported goods worth Rs 739.48 million in the last fiscal year. The figure was Rs. 871.80 million in the previous fiscal year. Exports included textile-based goods worth Rs 333.12 million and non-textile goods worth Rs 406.36 million. Similarly, exports to Germany also went down to Rs 318.69 million, a decline of Rs 2.56 million from the last fiscal year.
Nepal's exports to the UK and Japan slowed to Rs 199.26 million and Rs 164.69 million respectively last year from Rs 235.91 million and Rs 229.71 million in the previous year.
Posted on: 2010-08-19 09:03
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