Govt close to conclude NTIS review
KATHMANDU, April 27 :
The government is close to conclude the review of Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) to make it more relevant with necessary adjustments to export strategy as well as the status of product and services development after around four years of its enactment in 2010.
While NTIS 2010 incorporated twelve products and seven services, the review document may modify the products and services, according to Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), who is heading the NTIS review and update technical committee. [ break]
“NTIS should play vital role to minimize burgeoning trade deficit as well as to create more employment across the country,” said Gyawali, adding “We´ve analyzed the role of all stakeholders to boost country´s export and prepare action matrix for the product and service development.”
The National Steering Committee led by the chief secretary Lilamani Poudel has directed to conduct review in order to qualify the document appropriately for boosting export.
The document has incorporated agro products namely, cardamom, ginger, honey, lentils, tea, medicinal herbs and aromatic plants as well as crafts-- handmade paper, silver jewelry, wool products, pashmina, manufacturing-- noodles, iron and steel products, and services-- tourism, labor, information technology and business process outsourcing, besides health services, education services, engineering services and hydro electricity.
But the export volume of 22 non-NTIS products is still high, which contributed 55 percent of the total export in 2012/13. The 12 products and services incorporated in NTIS had contributed 32 percent to the total export in 2009/10, before the implementation of NTIS. NTIS products and services contributed 35 percent in 2012/13.
“We have to incorporate few other products under the national priority,” a highly-placed source in the ministry told to Republica, adding “NTIS aims to make larger impact in the economy through product development, value addition and uplifting export.”
NTIS is being supported by Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) to develop products within the country as well as to seek potential markets. Few of the products like ginger, pashmina and medicinal herbs and aromatic plants, incorporated in NTIS are enjoying further grant from EIF in second tier. International Trade Center (ITC) is supporting the product development and marketing of Nepali pashmina under the second tier project- Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support (PETS).
The policymakers claim that the NTIS is being helpful in enhancing the capacity of product and service producers as well as in providing value addition to export.
But the export of priority products listed under NTIS has been falling in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, though the export of cardamom, essential oil, honey, handmade paper, noodles, tea and woolen products improved in the eight-month period compared to last year.
Export of silver jewelry, ginger, lentils, medicinal herbs, however, fell by 68 percent, 65 percent, 43.8 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively, according to the statistics provided by Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC).
Cardamoms worth Rs 3.34 billion were exported during the period, while exports of pashmina products, tea and lentils fetched Rs 1.47 billion, Rs 1.33 billion and Rs 1.32 billon, respectively.
Source: Republica
