Handicraft businesses seek govt support in export facilitation, HR development

Lalitpur, Aug 3: Expressing serious concerns over the deteriorating exports of the silver jewelries, businessmen have demanded support for export facilitation, market promotion and human resource development from the government.

Speaking at an interaction on ‘Overcoming constraints in the promotion of silver jewelry export from Nepal’ organised by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN) here on Friday they demanded a separate policy for the promotion of silver products.

The share of silver jewelry exports has come down to 2.02 per cent in total handicraft exports in 2016/17 from 4.4 per cent in 2013/14.

This sector has problems in input, production and export.

“Sourcing of raw materials and access to pure silver are problems in input while the entrepreneurs are facing challenges of acute shortage of skilled craftsmen, quality testing, and designs and product adaptation at production stage, and restrained value for export product samples, regulated hand-carry exports, cumbersome customs process and ineffective incentives at export stage,” said Bijendra Man Shrestha, an Economist.

President of FHAN Dharma Raj Shakya urged the government to create infrastructure for the quality testing of silver products and simplify the export process.

Former President of FHAN Pancha Ratna Shakya said that the silver jewelry has 50 per cent value addition on an average but some artistic presentations have up to 200 per cent value addition.

Revenue Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Sishir Kumar Dhungana assured the businessmen that the government would support them in promoting Nepali handicraft goods in the international markets.

“The government is also considering implementing duty draw back facility. A Task  Force is formed at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies about increasing incentives to the export oriented products,” he said.

He urged the FHAN to recommend the government about modality of human resource creation, and said that the government was ready to provide budget support for it.

Likewise, Director of the Nepal Bureau of Standard and Meteorology (NBSM) Dipak Gyawali said that the department was working to create non-destructive method to check the quality of the handicraft goods.

“A committee has been formed to create the standards about the silver products. It will hold interactions with the stakeholders and recommend the parameters,” he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 August 2018.