“Our internal study shows Japan could be a promising market for us as the country has been importing re-exported pashmina from Germany and other European countries,” Bijay Dugad, general secretary of Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA), told Republica. “Given the slowdown in Europe, we can take benefit from the Japanese market.”
Japan has been providing duty-free access to some Nepali products, including Pashmina products, under its support to promote international trade of goods from Least Developed Countries, including Nepal. However, the Asia´s second largest economy has been importing only a nominal quantity of Nepali pashmina.[break]
Japan imported pashmina products worth more than US$ 140 million from different countries, mainly from Europe, last year. The US and European countries have been slapping import duty of 7 to 17 percent on Nepali pashmina products.
“Some of the European countries, including Germany have been re-exporting pashmina products sourced from other countries, to Japan at higher prices. We can easily get Japanese markets as our products will be cheaper,” said Dugad.
According to Dugad, the demand for high-end pashmina products is very high in Japan.
Nepal´s pashmina exports have been falling over the past few years. Data compiled by Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) shows exports of Chyangra Pashmina from Nepal declined by 6.7 percent to Rs 1.73 billion during the first eleven months of 2012/13 compared to the figures of the same period in 2011/12. Nepal had exported pashmina products worth Rs 1.9 billion in 2011/12.
Pashmina entrepreneurs are also making preparations to promote Chyangra Pashmina in Gulf countries, mainly the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Dugad said pashmina products can be exported across the Gulf countries from the UAE - the trading hub of the region.
Entrepreneurs are also focused on enhancing value of pashmina with attractive designs, keeping in growing demand for trendy products.
“Pashmina is emerging as a fabric for trendy designs. But we have been failing to come up with attractive designs,” Dugad said. “We, however, are preparing our new strategies to launch aggressive promotional activities in the under-utilized potential markets.”
Entrepreneurs are also eyeing the Latin American countries which have emerged as a dependable market for pashmina products in recent years. “Brazil and Mexico could be a big market for us,” he said, adding that pashmina exports of Mexico increased by around 43 percent in 2012.
Though the government registered Chyangra Pashmina trademark four years ago, exports of pashmina products hasn´t increased as expected in the lack of effective promotional campaigns. The NPIA has so far registered the government-recognized Chyangra Pashmina trademark in 41 countries, including the European Union members, Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and the US, among others.
In a bid to support production and international market promotion for pashmina products, the International Trade Center (ITC) -- a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and United Nations -- has agreed to extend support worth $1.22 million to Nepali pashmina entrepreneurs.
The process to register the trademark in Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and the UAE is underway, according to the officials.
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