Highlights

Garment exports sink to zero
2010-07-06

Long plunging garment exports to the US have hit rock bottom with not one piece being shipped in June. Statistics of the Garment Association of Nepal (GAN) show that garment exports in the first six months of 2010 recorded a decline of 38.9 percent.Exports to the US have been consistently declining since the elimination of quotas in global apparel trading in 2005. The decline in exports to the US in the last four years has pushed Nepal's garment industry to the verge of collapse. Also manufacturers and exporters have lost hope due to the constant labor unrest and bandas that have crippled production. Even though exports to the US had grown by around 25 percent in January 2010, the last five months have been dismal.
According to GAN, exports have nosedived by 90 percent during the period 2005 to 2009. With Nepal not being able to get duty-free access for its readymade garments in the US market, the only hope is the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) which Nepal and the US are to sign in the near future. TIFA has provisions that will help Nepal to gain favorable market access in the US.

The Kathmandu Post (6 July, 2010)

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