The step is being pushed as international buyers have recommended quality accreditation and labeling for this premium Nepali export. It also comes as one major step towards establishing image differentiation between hand-knotted and cheaper machine-made carpets.
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has pushed the program as a key step for building the product image during the new fiscal year and has sought allocation of Rs 20 million for the purpose.
Part of the proposed budget will go for supporting trade mark registration for pashmina, under a program which has moved ahead successfully, and the rest will go for a carpet development program, said a government source.
Unlike in the past when participation in international trade fairs used to top the export promotion program, the government has decided to de-prioritize this, in view of the global economic slowdown.
“The demand for carpets has shrunk substantially in the wake of the global economic downturn and we understand our participation in trade fairs alone will not change the situation,” he stated. Instead, the ministry prefers to concentrate in 2009/10 on product development, labeling and accreditation, and to consolidate the product image.
The ministry argues that registration of international trade mark and labeling for hand-knotted carpets will set up a system whereby hand-knotted and machine-made carpets can be differently labeled and tagged. This will make it easy for the government to open up exports of machine-made carpets as well, if manufacturers and exporters converged over the issue in future.
Presently, Nepal restricts exports of machine-made carpet, even though exporters have been demanding the government open it, given rising demand and price advantages.
The restriction has continued because manufacturers have resisted change, saying it will open the space for wrongdoers to manipulate quality and market products under different categories, thereby tainting the image of the product.
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