The Technical Appraisal Committee (TAC) headed by the secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) approved the projects worth around Rs 500 million on Monday.[break]
“Now that the proposals have been approved, we will forward it to the Project Implementation Steering Committee headed by Chief Secretary for final approval,” Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at the MoCS, told Republica.
Once the steering committee puts its seal on the project proposals, they will be forwarded to the governing board of the Enhance Integrated Framework (EIF) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for formal agreement.
“We are hopeful that both projects will start by February, 2013,” said Gyawali.
For the Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support (PETS) project designed to promote Chyangra Pashmina, EIF is extending support through International Trade Center (ITC) -- the joint agency of World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations. The project will get funding of US$1.22 million and $200,000 from EIF and the Nepal government, respectively.
The government has already registered ´Chyangra Pashmina´ - a collective trademark of Nepali pashmina - for effective promotion of Nepali pashmina products in the international market.
The project is expected to strengthen the competitive edge of Chyangra Pashmina by improving its production and exports. It aims to boost production of raw materials at the domestic level and launching campaigns in international markets to promote the brand.
Similarly, another project worth around 3.2 million euros ($4.22 million) has also been approved by TAC for the promotion medicinal and aromatic plants. The project aims to commercialize farming of medicinal herbs in ten districts of mid and far-western development regions.
EIF is providing 3 million euros for the project, while German aid agency GIZ is chopping in 174,000 euros.
Through the project, the government targets increase to increase production of medicinal herbs by 15 percent thereby raising income of local farmers - one-third of who are women, poor and indigenous people - in the targeted districts.
The government in consultation with the private sector and farmers has identified around a dozen medicinal herbs for commercial production. By raising production of medicinal herbs, the three-year project aims to increase the capacity of the country to export essential oils.
Data of Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) shows export of essential oils stood at meager Rs 76.885 million during 2011/12. During the same year, the country exported medicinal herbs worth Rs 805.37.
The government has recently approved an action plan targeting to increase exports of all 19 products (12 goods and seven services) selected under NTIS to one billion rupees a year each.
Out of the 12 goods selected in NTIS, annual export of ginger, essential oils, medicinal herbs, noodles, hand-made papers and sliver jewelries stand below one billion rupees.
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