The domestic market has been seeing Nepal as the largest readymade garment exporter ahead of China, since the end of textile quotas. Sources said Nepal was the top exporter to the country during the first five months of the current fiscals accounting 18.52% of the ready made garments imported into the country between April and August 2005. Nepal's share during the five-month period was, curiously, higher than China's market share of 17.53 %. Due to Nepal’s uncompetitive domestic textile industry and with handful of registered exporters, smuggling of Chinese garments in to the country through Nepal has gained, so as to take advantage of duty free access under India Nepal Trade
|
| Treaty. Further Government officials clarifies that, it is finding it difficult to enforce them even applying certain norms and conditions, as imports from Nepal under the Treaty are being facilitated in rather simple procedure of Certificate of Origin issued by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, making re-export of Chinese products into India through Nepal easily. After the end of quotas, Nepal’s garment makers are uncompetitive, as out of 1,067 registered textile and apparel companies operating in Nepal in 1995, only around 25 remain in business now. Further domestic industry has already petitioned the Government on the possibility of Chinese exporters using the Nepal route to gain duty free access into the Indian market. 
|
|
