Kathmandu, May 8: Ready-made garments have become the largest foreign exchange earner of Nepal as over five billion rupees worth of them were exported during the first four months of 2000.
Earlier, carpets had occupied first place for earning maximum foreign exchange. The main exportable items of Nepal are ready-made garments, carpets and handicrafts.
A delegation of the Nepal Ready-made Garments Association, the Nepal Carpet Industries Association and the Handicrafts Association of Nepal (han) recently met Minister for Finance Mahesh Acharya and Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ram Krishna Tamrakar and presented a 35-point demand on the steps to be taken immediately for the promotion of export oriented industries.
The demands include implementation of the various articles of the Industrial Enterprises Act 2049 concerning the rights and interests of entrepreneurs, efforts towards establishment of the export zone as no progress has been made in this direction even at the threshold of implementation of provisions of the World Trade Organisation, and bonded warehouse facilities for industries on par with the export zone until such arrangements are in place.
Establishment of a foreign trade development and research institute to meet the requirements of skilled manpower, quality production, design development and market studies for export oriented industries, and setting up of an export-import bank to disburse low interest loans to such industries are also among the 35 demands.
Calling for immediate implementation of the provision on loans without collateral of up to 35 percent on the basis of the letter of credit (L.C.) received by exporters as mentioned in the budget speech last year, a demand has also been made for refinancing by Nepal Rastra Bank.
President of the Ready-made Garments Association of Nepal Brij Gopal Inani says in this context, “we have already exported ninety percent of the quota allotted to us in the first four months. How can exports increase with only 10 percent left for the remaining eight months.”
Noting that attention should be given to the stability of industries, the financial system and labour, association president Inani says export duty should not be levied, a special Labour Act should be designed to prohibit strikes and bandhs, provisions for long-term loans and concessional rates of interest should be made, publicity carried out through Nepal’s embassies abroad and seminars and expositions be held to promote exports.
About 50,000 people have received direct employment and about 500,000 indirect employment in the ready-made garments industry, and only ten of the nearly two hundred designs could be exported, he said adding that if a congenial environment could be created and the industry expanded, most of the women in the rural areas could receive direct employment.
On the basis of the quota for ready-made garments, 90 percent of the export goes to the usa. Nepal and Bangladesh both started exporting ready-made garments about two decades back. Now more than fifty percent of the export of that country comprises ready-made garments, something which Nepal should take note of, said entrepreneurs who are also of the view that the government should make necessary arrangement for the installation of good machinery for the production of cloth, the main raw material, within the country.