According to the data compiled by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), export of these items to India and other overseas destinations has witnessed a double digit growth in the first two months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year.[break]
Export of woolen Pashmina to countries other than India increased by a whopping 43.9 percent to Rs 487.3 million during the period. Germany, France, Italy, the UK and the US are the major markets for Nepali Pashmina.
Economic downturn in some European countries had affected the demands for Nepali Chyangra Pashmina, which is comparatively expensive than those sourced from other countries.
Exports of Pashmina had plunged by 45.2 percent to Rs 338.7 million during the same period in 2011/12.
Nepal exported Pashmina worth Rs 9.6 million during the period, up by 44.9 percent compared to last year. During the fiscal year 2011/12, export of Pashmina went up by 35.7 percent to Rs 7.1 million.
Export of RMGs to India and overseas has also seen a growth in recent months. According to the NRB data, export of RMGs went up by 15.6 percent to Rs 731.1 million during the review period. Nepal had witnessed a steep decline in RMG exports of 41.1 percent to Rs 632.2 million during the fiscal year 2011/12.
Exports of RMGs underwent persistent slowdown after the US ended duty-free access facility availed to Nepali goods since the beginning of 2005. Global financial crisis that originated from the US and subsequent economic downturn in Europe severely hit the demand for Nepali garments.
Export of garments to India shot up by 56.6 percent to Rs 55.1 million during the period. However, the southern neighbor had imported garments worth Rs 35.2 million during the same period, down by 73.8 percent compared to the figure recorded during the same period last year.
“Impressive growth in the export of RMGs to both India and overseas is an indication that Nepali RMG market is growing after years of slowdown,” Uday Raj Pandey, president of Garment Association Nepal (GAN) told Republica on Friday.
Pandey, however, said that RMG entrepreneurs are still not confident that they would be able to deliver goods to buyers on time due to the elections. He also informed that the executive committee meeting of GAN that concluded in Biratnagar on Friday decided to conduct training for garment workers in Biratnagar keeping in view the deficit of skilled workforce in the garment factories in eastern Nepal.
Woolen carpet exports from Nepal also jumped by 19.1 percent to Rs 1.29 billion during the period. The export was down 5.1 percent to Rs 1.17 million during the same period in the fiscal year 2011/12. Export of carpet to Europe had tumbled due to economic downturn that weakened the purchasing capacity of consumers of major European markets.
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