Nepal's garment export plummets by 31pc
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
KATHMANDU, Nov. 5 (Xinhua): Nepal's ready-made garments export plummeted by 31 per cent to 0.99 million U.S. dollars in October, according to the Garment Association Nepal (GAN).
The ready-made garment exports stood at 22.92 million dollars in the first 10 months of this year, whereas it was 42.41 million dollars in the same period last year, The Himalayan Times reported today.
"The export has been declining continuously for the last two years," entrepreneurs were quoted as saying, attributing the decline to fast losing orders over the period.
The closure of manufacturing units due to internal problems like regular labour disputes and unrest in southern Nepal have also been blamed for the plunge in exports.
According to the daily, in 2002, there were more than four- dozen manufacturing industries, which are now reduced to only one- and-a-half dozen. The number of workers employed in the industry has also drastically dropped to about a thousand.
Export to the United States, a major market for Nepali garment products, has also decreased by a whopping 46 per cent in the first 10 months of 2007, in comparison to the same period last year.
GAN officials blamed the government for not keeping its commitments and creating a favourable industrial environment.
The ready-made garment exports stood at 22.92 million dollars in the first 10 months of this year, whereas it was 42.41 million dollars in the same period last year, The Himalayan Times reported today.
"The export has been declining continuously for the last two years," entrepreneurs were quoted as saying, attributing the decline to fast losing orders over the period.
The closure of manufacturing units due to internal problems like regular labour disputes and unrest in southern Nepal have also been blamed for the plunge in exports.
According to the daily, in 2002, there were more than four- dozen manufacturing industries, which are now reduced to only one- and-a-half dozen. The number of workers employed in the industry has also drastically dropped to about a thousand.
Export to the United States, a major market for Nepali garment products, has also decreased by a whopping 46 per cent in the first 10 months of 2007, in comparison to the same period last year.
GAN officials blamed the government for not keeping its commitments and creating a favourable industrial environment.