Govt to revise NTIS 2010 within this year

After much criticism from industrialists, the government is finally planning to revise the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2010 this year. Due to the absence of certain products in the NTIS priority list, exporters have repeatedly asked the government to revise the list and include exportable products such as carpets and garments. According to an official at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, the ministry is preparing to revise the NTIS 2010 this year. “The revision of NTIS 2010 might also make changes in the NTIS priority product list. The revised NTIS may add a few products or change the list of products,” the official said. Though readymade garments and handknotted carpets have a large share in the total exportable products of the country, they had not been included in the list of priority products. Industrialists have been repeatedly lobbying to include garments and carpets in the NTIS list. These products are in need of special programmes to enhance and promote them in the international market, claimed exporters. Failure to increase the export figures and lack of new markets for products in the NTIS priority list has raised concerns among exporters regarding the advantage of being listed in the priority products. According to exporters, the government should enlist carpets, readymade garments, woodcraft and stonecraft among NTIS priority products. Garments, carpets, pashmina and handicraft products were defined as special focus area for export promotion but NTIS has failed to include carpets and garments in the priority list, though they were recognised as products with comparative advantage by the Nepal Trade and Competitiveness Study. Exporters have expressed their dissatisfaction on the lack of government programmes to promote products included in the NTIS list, due to which export figures have remained dismal. They have suggested the government to develop more effective plans and introduce new products in the NTIS list. Though being in the priority list, NTIS products have failed to show good export figures in the first 10 months of 2012-13. According to statistics from the Trade and Export Promotion Centre, exports of woollen products have decreased by 18.3 per cent, articles of silver jewellery have fallen by 37.7 per cent, while export of natural honey, paper products, woollen and pashmina shawls, essential oils, and noodles and pasta have declined by 97.5 per cent, 14.5 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 17.2 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. Among the other NTIS commodities, export of ginger has increased by 217.2 per cent, tea export has increased by 37.4 per cent, while export figures of cardamom, lentils and medicinal herbs have increased by 2.1 per cent, 20.2 per cent and 65.9 per cent, respectively.