Exports of NTIS products drop

KATHMANDU, MAY 15 - Exports of products identified as having high export potential recorded a marginal drop of 1.03 percent during the first nine months of the fiscal year. These export products have been included in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS).

Total export earnings from NTIS products fell to Rs 20.17 billion from Rs 20.38 billion year on year, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).

Among the 13 products, exports of silver jewellery, lentil, medical herbs, ginger and pashmina products dropped while exports of cardamom, tea, essential oils, iron and steel products, natural honey, paper products, noodles and woollen products rose during the review period.

Exports of silver jewellery, ginger, lentil and medicinal herbs were down 68.3 percent, 65.4 percent, 34.7 percent and 19.6 percent respectively. Shipments of pashmina products declined marginally by 0.5 percent to Rs 1.57 billion. 

Handicraft traders said that a warning by the European Union about banning Nepali silver jewellery caused a decline in exports. The EU had announced that it would bar entry of Nepali silver products if their quality was not improved by 2012.

“Although we have improved the quality by installing a cadmium testing lab, we have not been able to convince European buyers about the quality of our products,” said Hem Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal.

He added that exports could also have fallen due to the failure to improve the design of the products. “Despite our efforts to switch to new designs, lack of publicity has hit exports in the international arena,” said Shakya.

Meanwhile, Pushpa Man Shrestha, president of the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association, said that there was no particular reason behind the slight dip in exports of pashmina. The government has been implementing various programmes to promote NTIS products with support from the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). After the efforts failed to yield desired results, the governme-nt is revising products with comparative advantage.

Among the NTIS products that saw a rise in exports, iron and steel recorded the highest increase in earnings of Rs 109.5 million during the review period. Exports swelled to Rs 9.18 billion from Rs 9.07 billion before.

Large cardamom also posted an encouraging growth of 40.1 percent in earnings. Nepal exported Rs 3.69 billion worth of this spicy root.

Similarly, exports of tea increased 3.6 percent to Rs 1.40 billion and handmade paper rose 28.1 percent to Rs 467.6 million. NTIS products accounted for 29.5 percent of the country’s total export income.