Exports of NTIS products drop 3.28pc in first half

KATHMANDU, FEB 18 -Exports of goods categorized as having a comparative advantage under the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) have declined 3.28 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year. NTIS products worth Rs 14.2 billion were exported in the first six months of 2013-14 compared to Rs 14.68 billion in the same period in 2012-13.


Of the 13 NTIS-identified products, exports of silver jewellery, lentils, medical herbs and ginger witnessed a decline while exports of another nine products—cardamom, tea, essential oils, iron and steel products, natural honey, paper products, noodles, pashmina products and woollen products—have gone up.

The government has identified cardamom, ginger, honey, lentil, tea, noodles and medicinal herbs/essential oils as having comparative advantage in the agro-product category in NTIS 2010. Similarly, goods like handmade paper products, silver jewellery, iron and steel, pashmina and wool products are the items in the crafts and industrial goods category. According to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC), exports of silver jewellery products stood at Rs 31.70 million in the first half of the current fiscal year, down from Rs 92.31 million in the same period last year. Exports of three other major NTIS products—ginger, lentils and medical herbs—plunged in double digits with losses of 67.6 percent, 52.1 percent and 22.9 percent.

Officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies officials said that the decline in sales might have been caused by multiple factors including low production, less demand or failure to compete with similar products available in the international market.

“We are studying the fall in exports of NITS products and will identify the reasons,” said Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at the Commerce Ministry.

Among the largest exports, iron and steel products topped the chart with sales of Rs 6.26 billion followed by cardamom with Rs 2.53 billion. Exports of iron and steel products have swelled 5.6 percent and cardamom saw a rise in sales of 36.8 percent.

Similarly, tea exports increased 5.7 percent to Rs 1.19 billion and pashmina exports rose 10 percent to Rs 1.2 billion. NTIS products accounted for 31.4 percent of the country’s total exports.

As per the TEPC, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 45.21 billion in the review period representing a growth of 17 percent compared to exports of Rs 38.64 billion during the first half of the last fiscal year. India, the US, Germany, China, the UK and Bangladesh are the largest buyers of Nepali products.

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