During the period, Nepal exported 679,647 square meters of hand-knitted carpet to 46 countries across the world. Exports in the same period last year were 866,618 square meters in 52 countries.
Along with the fall in export quantity, earnings from the export also dropped by 11 percent as compared to the earning during the same period last year. Statistics provided by Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) revealed that the exports stood at a mere US$ 55.47 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal, against US$ 62.41 million during the corresponding period last year.
Officials at Nepal Carpet Exporters´ Association (NCEA) attributed the lesser drop in value than the quantity to the price rise that the exporters managed to bargain with the importers.
As for the decline in quantity, they attributed it to deep-running labor problems, which have perennially affected smooth production, and also to the fewer orders in the wake of global slowdown.
Exports to Germany, the largest consumer of Nepali handmade woolen carpet, slipped by more than 20 percent. Exports to the US, the second largest importer, also shrank by 25 percent.
Despite odds, exports to the US continued to fetch more earnings than in Germany. Exports to the US alone fetched an earning of US$ 23.34 million, whereas exports to Germany valued at US$ 15.80 million.
The UK, meanwhile, imported carpets worth US$ 2.89 million.
Given the downward trend, NCEA has estimated that the carpet exports will remain below one million square meters during the current fiscal. Till two years ago, exports in a year used to hover around 1.5 million square meters.
Exporters warned that the industry could suffer more if the government paid no heed to implement order-based hire and fire mechanism -- something that the manufacturers of all major exportable commodities have been demanding for the last couple of years.
Presently, the manufacturers need to shoulder liability of full strength staff even in the lean period, adding the costs of doing business and rendering Nepali carpet less competitive in the international market. Lack of competitiveness has forced many importers to look for cheaper suppliers such as Vietnam, China and India.
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