Silver craft exports continue to spiral down

KATHMANDU, Feb 27: Till early 2000s, silver jewelry was the country´s third largest exports. But exports of silver handicraft plummeted over the past decade and further by 32.82 percent over the first six months of 2011/12, making things difficult for people involved in the trade.



Traders attribute this dismal performance to rapid fluctuation in silver prices, rumors of cadmium residue in silver jewelry and recession in Europe - the major importer of silver products - among others. [break]



Besides, lack of skilled manpower to create new designs and demand for higher pay by craftsmen are the other problems facing the sector.



According to Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN), export of silver handicraft increased to Rs 110.95 million over the first six months of 2011/12, down from Rs 181.37 million of the same period of last year.



Bijay Ratna Tuladhar, CEO of Yak and Yeti Enterprises -- a major exporter of silver jewelries, said their cost of production is increasing because the cadmium testing lab established with an investment of Rs 12 million by FHAN and the government has yet to start commercial operation.



Another exporter, Manmohan Sing Malla, proprietor of MQS Enterprises, said the demand for silver products has gone down mainly because of economic slowdown in Europe. “Besides, price fluctuation, lack of skilled manpower and high labor cost are also affecting exports of silver jewelries,” Malla added.



Not only the exports, traders say sale of silver jewelries have gone down even in domestic market owing to rise in silver prices.



Exports of silver jewelries started decreasing after rumors of cadmium residue in Nepali silver products started making rounds in Nepal´s major markets. Since then, major exporters have not purchased silver from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).



“We stopped purchasing silver from NRB as its price is higher by Rs 20 to 30 per tola (11.664gms) when compared to prices in local market,” he added.



Besides, traders say export of silver commodities is dwindling because they do not have the capacity to accept bulk orders placed by importers in India, Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia and European countries.



Nepal exports silver handicraft to more than 40 countries, including US, Japan, Canada, the UK, France, Italy and China.

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