KATHMANDU: The Nepali readymade garment (RMG) industry that has a history of more than a decade has come to such a pass that Garment Association Nepal (GAN), an apex organization of the garment sector, has difficulty collecting data on export to the US

GAN president Prashant Kumar Pokharel said that as Nepali RMG export has nosedived to only around $1 lakh per month, GAN has not been collectiong data as there is no authorized data regarding the export volume to India. Close to 70 per cent RMG is being exported to India, while the European countries are buying the rest 30 per cent.

In 2004 there used to be around 350 factories but now there are only four RMG factories and they too are operating with an uncertain future. “There were numbers of garment industries in operation till 2004 but with the quota phase-out and labour unrest the number has become negligible. There are only large scale industries,” said Pokharel.

Adam and Eve, Heritage Fashion, Momento Apparels and Ami Apparels are the large scale garment industries in operation and even their survival not sure. “The garment industries that are operating export to Europe and India,” said Pokharel adding that as the export to US is negligible there is no data available with GAN.

According to Pokharel, it’s not the quota phase-out so much that is hitting the sector but the unstable political scenario and labour unrest. “We are urging for duty-free access but along with it we need flexible labour policy and export-friendly environment,” added Pokharel.

Nepal has started the process for bilateral trade treaty with the US. Pokharel said that Minister for Commerce and Supplies Rajendra Mahato will visit the US coming February to finalise the draft proposed trade treaty. During the visit of United States Trade Representatives to Nepal recently, a draft proposal of US-Nepal trade agreement was prepared for facilitating duty-free access of Nepali RMG to the American market. Due to high production costs and dismal labour laws the garment industries are either on verge of closure or running at reduced capacity. Industrialists and workers are hard hit.