The budget has duly mentioned about the promotion of 19 products in the
Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010 list but it has failed to
bring special programmes for other exportable products that also hold
high export potential. According to exporters, the government should
have listed carpets, readymade garments, woodcraft and stonecraft among
NTIS priority products.
Garments, carpets, pashmina and handicraft products were defined as special focus area for export promotion but NTIS failed to include carpets and garments, though they were recognised as products with comparative advantage by the Nepal Trade and Competitiveness Study.
Industrialists have been repeatedly lobbying to include garments and carpets in the NTIS list as these products are in need of special programmes for their enhancement and promotion in the international market, exporters said.
“The budget has shown concern on the increasing trade deficit which is impressive but it has failed to include more than 40 products that are not in the NTIS priority list,” said president of Garment Association – Nepal Uday Raj Pandey.
The budget has been doubled for the new fiscal year as compared to what it was for 2012-13 for the production, expansion, diversification and commercialisation of goods identified by NTIS 2010.
However, exporters expressed their dissatisfaction over the budget not including any special programmes for the promotion and development of products other than those listed in the NTIS list. According to Pandey, the budget has allotted around Rs one billion to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), only for its regular programmes.
According to exporters, as the products are listed in the NTIS list, there were more expectations regarding their promotion and development but the recent export figures have failed to show the increase in export despite the effort made to increase the export of listed products. After much criticism, MoCS had also planned to revise NTIS 2010 this year but there was no such announcement made in the budget.
The budget has allocated around Rs 200 million for implementation of the NTIS programme. In 2012-13, the total budget allocated for the programme was around Rs 48.5 million. “This year we are developing a different mechanism to implement the NTIS product promotion programme,” said an official at MoCS.
According to the official, the ministry has already divided the products under respective line ministries that are Ministry of Agriculture Development, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, and Ministry of Industry that will take care of their respective products. Meanwhile, MoCS will look after the private sector and work to develop the required infrastructure.
According to the official, the products listed in NTIS are those with comparative and competitive advantages, therefore, the budget will be used for the listed products. “However, we have not totally ignored other products and if they do fall within the category of listed products they will also be given due importance.”
src : THT
Garments, carpets, pashmina and handicraft products were defined as special focus area for export promotion but NTIS failed to include carpets and garments, though they were recognised as products with comparative advantage by the Nepal Trade and Competitiveness Study.
Industrialists have been repeatedly lobbying to include garments and carpets in the NTIS list as these products are in need of special programmes for their enhancement and promotion in the international market, exporters said.
“The budget has shown concern on the increasing trade deficit which is impressive but it has failed to include more than 40 products that are not in the NTIS priority list,” said president of Garment Association – Nepal Uday Raj Pandey.
The budget has been doubled for the new fiscal year as compared to what it was for 2012-13 for the production, expansion, diversification and commercialisation of goods identified by NTIS 2010.
However, exporters expressed their dissatisfaction over the budget not including any special programmes for the promotion and development of products other than those listed in the NTIS list. According to Pandey, the budget has allotted around Rs one billion to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), only for its regular programmes.
According to exporters, as the products are listed in the NTIS list, there were more expectations regarding their promotion and development but the recent export figures have failed to show the increase in export despite the effort made to increase the export of listed products. After much criticism, MoCS had also planned to revise NTIS 2010 this year but there was no such announcement made in the budget.
The budget has allocated around Rs 200 million for implementation of the NTIS programme. In 2012-13, the total budget allocated for the programme was around Rs 48.5 million. “This year we are developing a different mechanism to implement the NTIS product promotion programme,” said an official at MoCS.
According to the official, the ministry has already divided the products under respective line ministries that are Ministry of Agriculture Development, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, and Ministry of Industry that will take care of their respective products. Meanwhile, MoCS will look after the private sector and work to develop the required infrastructure.
According to the official, the products listed in NTIS are those with comparative and competitive advantages, therefore, the budget will be used for the listed products. “However, we have not totally ignored other products and if they do fall within the category of listed products they will also be given due importance.”
src : THT
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