Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, July 23:

Along with a continuous fall in overall exports, exports through air cargo to a third countries registered a negative gr-owth of 12 per cent during 2004-05, compared to the corresponding period last year. The volume of air cargo exported via Tribhuvan International Airport during the fiscal 2004-05 stood at 74, 69,185 kg, whereas the air cargo volume was 84, 40,800 kg during the previous fiscal, according to Nepal Freight Forwarders’ Association (NEFFA). The prolonged conflict in the country and the government’s hazy export policies has been major reasons for the declining trend in exports. Moreover, the termination of multi-fibre arrangement (MFA) from January 1 this year, which annulled quota facility for Nepali readymade garment exports to the US, has had its great impact on the entire export sector.

“Prevailing red-tapism, unnecessary documentations and lengthy customs pro-cesses are some of the reasons why Nepali export is witnessing a slump in recent years,” says Namgyal Lama, president of NEFFA. He adds that no significant improvement has been achieved so far, despite repeated requests to simplify documentation and shorten the process. Due to lengthy customs clearance process and documentations, Nepali exports is losing its competitiveness and is frequently failing to meet importers demands on time, Lama said, adding that this has diverted importers to other countries.