In the last eight months, 81.1 million units of readymade garments were imported from China which is down by 4 million units compared to same period last year. Last year 85 million units of readymade garments worth Rs 4.15 billion were imported through Tatopani.
Bishnu Shrestha, officer at Tatopani customs, said the import of all items, including readymade garments, have gone down this fiscal year. "After the landslide in Jure on August 2 last year, import of all the goods from China has gone down. Around 40 percent of the traders have been transporting goods from other points," Shrestha said.
Readymade garments imported from China mainly include pants, T-shirts, trousers, undergarments, jackets, sweater and children's wear.
It is estimated that Chinese garments make up 90 percent of the Nepali market. Even though Chinese goods are not durable, Chinese garments are popular among Nepalis as they are cheap.
Based on value, Chinese goods cover 33 percent of all goods imported through Tatopani customs.
Last fiscal year, Chinese goods worth Rs 19.6 billion were imported from Tatopani customs. Of the total amount, Chinese readymade garments worth Rs 5.7 billion were imported.
After clothes, rubber and plastic shoes and sandals, leather and textile shoes, cotton and silk fabric are among the highly imported items.
In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, rubber and plastic shoes and sandals worth Rs 576 million were imported. According to the data provided by Tatopani customs, Silk fabric worth Rs 325.9 million, leather shoes worth Rs 191.6 million, cotton fabric worth Rs 206.8 million and textile shoes worth Rs 134 million were imported in the eight months.
Likewise, blankets worth Rs 120 million, hand bags worth Rs 100 million, shawls worth Rs 90 million 10 million kg of apples worth Rs 340 million, machinery parts worth Rs 150 million and bed sheets worth Rs 100 million were imported.
Velvet fabric, mattress, wool, silk thread, batteries, and motor spare parts are in the list of top 20 imported items. In the eight months, the goods in the top 20 list made up Rs 5.8 billion in imports.
Buddha Raj Basnet, a trader said the import volume depended on demand from customers. "Depending on the demand of the items based on prices and fashion, import of readymade garments and others goods are affected," he said.
Around 200 varieties of Chinese goods are imported via Tatopani customs to Nepal. According to Basnet, most of the Chinese goods imported are consumed in the Nepali market while some are exported to India.
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