NATIONAL7 (Spotlight Weekly)]

CARPET INDUSTRY
Partnership In The Making

Nepalese carpet entrepreneurs and British wool manufacturers are readying to develop a symbiotic relations

By A CORRESPONDENT

Nepalese carpet manufacturers and British wool manufacturers are poised to develop a new partnership thereby increasing the use of British wool in the production of Nepalese carpets and opening up the vast British market for them.

In a bid to promote Nepalese carpets in British market, an eight-member delegation of Nepalese carpet entrepreneurs recently (January 17 till 22, 2000) visited the United Kingdom.

Nepalese carpet weavers : Renowned for quality

With a view to increase the use of British wool, the British Embassy in Nepal and British Trade International sponsored the visit of Nepalese entrepreneurs led by A. G. Sherpa, President of Central Carpet Industries Association (CCIA). The delegation included leading Nepalese carpet manufacturers, exporters and wool importers.

At present, Nepalese carpet manufacturers mainly use wools from New Zealand and Australia and their major market is Germany. Of late, British wool manufacturers have been showing interest in exporting wool to Nepal and exhibiting the prospect of importing Nepalese carpets to the vast British market.

During the visit, the Nepalese delegation inspected sheep farms in Northern Wales and wool grading and scouring centers at Bradford. The delegation also identified a number of grades of British wool which matched the Nepalese wool import stipulations and could be used for Nepalese carpet production in terms of quality.

The delegation met with senior officials of the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) and requested it to develop blends to match Nepalese wool importation specifications. The BWMB agreed to the request by Nepalese carpet entrepreneurs to give "Licensee" status to Nepalese manufacturers who use minimum of 50% British wool component in producing carpet and thus pave way for those products to be marketed at various reputed international carpet exhibitions.

The BWMB also undertook to provide space for exhibiting such Nepalese carpets woven from British wool in reputed international carpet fairs like Harrowgate, UK in September 2000, Domotex 2001 and either Atlanta or Las Vegas in 2001.

The Nepalese delegation also held meetings with a number of oriental carpet importers in Britain as well as leading department stores including Harrods and House of Frasers in London. Both the stores expressed interest in Nepalese carpets and in principle agreed to hold exhibition sales if Nepalese carpets are sent to them on a consignment basis.

As a first step to build the new partnership, it has been resolved to develop at least 20 carpets from the wool samples supplied by BWMB.