Increased
domestic production is the only option to bridge widening import-export gap,
according to finance minister Shankar Prasad Koirala.
Addressing
Leather Goods & Footwear Expo-2013, here today, he said that it would be
possible only with joint efforts between private sector and the government.
Though the
government had brought a policy to use domestic products – even if they are 15
per cent more expensive than the imported ones – in the government agencies, it
has not been implemented, Koirala said, adding that the government is ready to
discuss on how to implement it.
The
government has planned Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Biratnagar, Bhairahawa
and Panchkhal and is ready to facilitate leather goods and footwear
manufacturers find space in SEZs, he added.
The minister
also asked the manufacturers to come up with a clear plan on what should be
done to be self dependent on leather goods and footwear in the next five to 10
years. "The entrepreneurs must have a detailed plan on how to get raw
materials in the country and increase skilled manpower for the sustainability
of the industry," he added. "The economic revolution is possible only
with the joint efforts of both the private sector and the government and the
government is ready to co-operate the private sector."
Federation
of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Suraj Vaidya,
on the occasion, asked the government to check the smuggling of goods to help
make the domestic products competitive. "The government must also provide
tax break for the raw materials to increase domestic production," he
added. "The CTEVT should also help produce skilled manpower for the local
industries."
Vice
president of the FNCCI hailed government effort to promote the private sector.
"The
open and porous border, energy crisis, and lack of skilled manpower have hit
the domestic industries," said Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers
Association president Homnath Upadhayay.
The 10th
expo – which runs from December 24 to December 30 – that has more than 90
stalls of the domestic goods and footwear manufacturers is also promoting the
collective logo "Made in Nepal' to help check the imported leather goods
and footwear that have been sold in the market in the name of domestic.
There are around 700
leather goods and footwear manufacturers that cover around 60 per cent of the
market demand.
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