Kathmandu, Dec. 21
The government is planning to formulate a
new trade integration strategy to promote the export of Nepali products and
support in the economic development of the country and job creation.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and
Supplies (MoICS) is working to create a new version of the strategy that
largely failed to achieve the goals set in the past.
Currently, it is assessing the impacts of
the previous National Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS), 2016 to identify the
major strengths and weaknesses of the programme in order to create more
effective one.
"Export promotion is one of the top
priorities of the government as it would help in job creation and expansion of
economic activities. The government will formulate the new strategy in close
consultation with the private sector," Secretary of the MoICS, Arjun
Pokharel has said at the 'Post-COVID revival seminar' organised by the
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) last week.
The MoICS has conducted a discussion with
the private sector organisations and other stakeholders.
The Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has
suggested the government to include the hydroelectricity as the export
commodity in the NTIS.
"Continuing with what we are doing now
won't help in trade promotion. Government mostly remains idle after formulating
the policies. Reducing trade deficit should be the top agenda of the
government, not only the MoICS," said Rajendra Malla, President of the NCC.
According to him, Nepal had failed in export
promotion of the goods like cashmere, tea and garment that have high potential
because of poor branding. He said that collective trademarks of potential goods
that are already performing well in the international market should be
developed and promoted.
"Government should implement
incentives on export. Simplifying and supporting in the marketing of 'made in
Nepal' goods in the domestic and international markets could be the key to
success of the strategy," said Malla.
He recommended including hydroelectricity
in the new NTIS if the country aimed to develop the strategy to support in
import substitution in the long-term.
Chair of Export Promotion Committee at the
FNCCI, Manish Lal Pradhan, said that the amendments in the framework couldn't
help much, it needs to be revamped.
"Policy is changed twice in the past
but results were not encouraging. Product selection method should more robust
and practical. Goods like felt that have high export potential should be
included in the strategy," he said.
According to him, one-door policy is not a
clear framework while there is confusion about the value addition as well.
Currently, the product should have 30 per cent value addition to get the export
incentives but the private sector entrepreneurs want it at the two levels.
Similarly, there is not close coordination
among the ministries and government agencies, apart from the MoICS, other
government bodies did not care about the NTIS, entrepreneurs said at the
post-COVID revival conference.
The private sector organisations have
suggested the government to prepare the NTIS as an instrument for the
graduation of the country from the Least Developed Country (LDC).
"Its been more than a decade the
private sector has been demanding the establishment of accredited lab but we
still don't have the facility," said Pradhan and added that infrastructure
like energy, roads and labs should be developed at the earliest.
The government had launched NTIS in 2010
and 2016. It had revised the 2010 strategy and reduced the goods and services
having high export potential to 12 from 19 – nine products and three services.
The list included leather and footwear
products, readymade garments, pashmina, hand woven carpet, black cardamom,
ginger, tea, and medicinal and aromatic plants. Likewise, remittance generating
services, information technology, business process outsourcing and IT engineering,
and tourism were also included in the NTIS 2016.
However, the exports of the high potential
goods have been continuously decreasing over the past decade.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 December 2021.
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