KATHMANDU: To manage trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) in a coordinated manner, the government is heading towards implementation of Trade SWAp which will be a strategic part of Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS), said Shiv Raj Bhatt, acting NPM, ENTRec during a workshop organised today on Nepal’s Export Potential Assessment for NTIS.

He said, the mechanism (Trade SWAp) will equip the government with stronger tools for a coordinated, government-led management of Aid for Trade in support of implementation of a government-formulated strategy for trade integration, which is NTIS.

According to NTS team leader Thierry Noyelle, the expected export revenue in 2009 of about $650 million is in tourism alone and remittances of $2.3 billion in 2008. In 2008, about $954 million was the total export value. Top 15 products exported by Nepal in 2008 are carpets, iron and steel, plastics, apparels, accessories, manmade staple fibres, coffee, tea, mate and spices, edible vegetables

and certain roots and tubers, other textiles articles, sets, old clothing, copper, beverages, accessories, knitted or crocheted items, animals, vegetables, salt and sulphur.

Noyelle said that there was need for a survey as there is a lack of statistics and indicators of domestic supply conditions and socio-economic impact. Noyelle said there was also a need for better understanding of the private sector and its concerns as well as the business environment. Better understanding of products and services enchances relationships, trust, and mutual understanding between the government and the private sector and associates the private sector with the government’s policy.

In the selection of companies, there should be at least five companies per sector that have already exported and the criteria of selection should be private and foreign companies, the size of the company and geographical coverage as well as women entrepreneurs etc.