NTIS inclusion to boost Nepal garment exports

10 Sep '12

1 min read

The exports of garments from Nepal is set to get a boost as the High-Level Business Forum (HLBF), chaired by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, has decided to include apparels under Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010.

Until now, 12 products and 7 services were placed under NTIS which gives special comparative advantage to those products for exports. Garments, however, were not among the NTIS list as they were considered to be ‘not dependable’ for sustainable export growth.

However, the Government would now soon include apparels in the NTIS product list after a decision to the affect was taken by HLBF under Nepal Business Forum (NBF) - a public-private forum that works for improving the investment climate in the country.

Garments constituted one of the largest exportable items from Nepal until 1999-2000, when the country’s apparel exports stood at Np Rs. 12 billion.

However, Nepal’s garment exports declined over the past decade due to the end of the quota regime in clothing trade, the special facility extended by the US to Sub-Saharan countries under AGOA, and workers unrest in the country.

In 2011-12 fiscal, garment exports from Nepal fetched foreign exchange equivalent to Np Rs. 4 billion.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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