Govt out to identify priority items for export

KATHMANDU, July 2: In an effort to boost exports, the government has initiated homework to identify national products that are priority for export and their potential foreign markets.



The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has begun discussions in this regard with stakeholders including exporters, producers and officials of ministries concerned.[break]



“There has long been a mismatch between the export potentiality of our products and our actual supply strengths for such products and this has left us with no idea as to which products should be promoted for export. So, we are listing the products in which we have competitive advantages and there is huge export market potential,” said Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at MoCS.



Gywali said MoCS was asking the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry to forward a list of priority products for which the government can make arrangements for promotion in the international market.



Without any idea about the export prospects of Nepali products and their competitive strength in the international market, officials are in confusion how to promote their export.



“We are listing a broad range of products of our priority so that we can request importing countries during multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations for waiver of customs and other incentives,” said Gyawali.



Nepal has already indentified 19 priority items -- 12 products and seven services -- under the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS), a comprehensive plan launched in 2010 to boost Nepali exports.



The priority items specified by NTIS are agro-foods (cardamom, ginger, honey, lentils, tea, noodles, medicinal herbs), craft and industrial goods (handmade papers, silver jewelry, iron and steel, pashmina, wool products ) and services (tourism, labor services, IT, health, education, engineering and hydro-electricity). Other potential exports recognized under NTIS are transit trade services, sugar, cement, dairy products and transformers.



Meanwhile, MoCS has made a presentation before US investors on the prospects for US investment in Nepal´s priority exports as identified by NTIS, outlining product factor, domestic factor, geographical factor and other factors instrumental for encouraging potential US investment. Presenting a paper, Chandra Ghimire, joint secretary at MoCS, said Nepal had the potential to promote environment friendly items such as pashmina, cardamom, ginger and honey, which have a high rate of return and value addition.



A growing middle class with increasing purchasing power, government commitment to infrastructure and human resources and strategic location between two giant neighbors India and China have also been identified as instrumental for increasing foreign investment.

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