The Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS), which is entrusted to carry out the implementation of Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010 -- a blueprint to boost export -- is preparing to submit a proposal to this effect to the EIF in order to get its assistance for improvement of forward and backward linkages -- that establishes a mechanism to trickle down the returns of the product. [break]
“Medicinal herb is the third product, after ginger and pashmina, for which we are seeking EIF assistance to develop backward and forward linkages,” Toya Narayan Gayawali, joint secretary at the MoCS, told Republica on Tuesday.
USA, France, Germany, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Russia, Belgium and South Korea have been identified as major destination countries for Nepali medicinal herbs.
According to Gyawali, the ministry is seeking EIF assistance to add more value to Nepali medicinal herbs.
The government has already received Rs 110 million from EIF to enhance production and processing of ginger. Similarly, the government is working on registering trademark of Nepali Pashmina in the international market. “We will closely work with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation in order to implement the activities that we have planned to promote exports of medicinal herbs,” added Gyawali.
According to the statistics of Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC), Nepal exported medicinal herbs worth Rs 710 million in fiscal year 2010/11.
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