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Kathmandu Thursday February 22, 2001 Falgun 11, 2057.
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Handicraft exports
dwindling
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Feb 21 - Handicraft exports,
excluding pashmina, which had always grown in the past years, has declined considerably.
According to data provided by Handicraft
Association of Nepal (HAN), handicraft exports, excluding pashmina, in the first four
months of the current fiscal year dipped over 36 per cent as compared to the figures of
the corresponding period
last year.
While exports in the first four months last
fiscal year stood at Rs 747.9 million, the exports dropped to Rs 472 million this year.
Entrepreneurs say that the export figures for
the first four months will have an important bearing upon the overall annual performance.
It is because the peak season for handicraft demand abroad is before Christmas and New
Year.
"The demand of Nepali handicraft in the
international markets is adequate. However, many Nepali businessmen are shifting out from
the traditional handicraft business to the more profitable pashmina business, thereby
affecting the overall handicraft exports," says Dilip Adhikari, Executive Secretary
of HAN.
He says that handicraft exports, even without
pashmina, in the first four months had never declined in the past years.
The present drop is as a result of
entrepreneurs’ reluctance to deal in low-margin handicraft. Businessmen are
increasingly preferring to export profitable pashmina, even if less volumetrically.
However, the total handicraft exports, including
pashmina shows a good growth. Total exports in the first four months of the current fiscal
year stood at Rs 4.15 billion, up from Rs 2.28 billion in the corresponding period last
year. Similarly, export figures in the same period the previous year stood at Rs 438.6
million.
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