Nepal : Garment export to US in slumps

For the past so many years, US have been serving as the single largest consumer market for the exports of ready-made garments from Nepal. However, the apparel sector of Nepal has been facing tremendous loss for almost a year and even in this November, the country saw a decline of 63 percent in terms of value.
Earlier Nepal could boast confidently about US absorbing nearly 80 percent of its domestic garment product, however, the recent declining export trend only goes to show what a single country concentration policy is capable of.
Fibre2fashion has been provided with statistics confirmed by Garment Association of Nepal (GAN), which shows a declining trend in all ten months. The data reveals that April saw the lowest fall at 3 percent. Moreover exports to EU and Canadian markets also remain as low as 20 percent.
Garments from Nepal are comparatively more expensive and hence less competitive in the global market. Besides, the perpetual decline in the exports can also be attributed to internal factors and other non-tariff barriers such as social compliance, procedural complications, lengthy customs process, documentations and others that have forced manufacturing units to keep their operations closed. Besides, wobbling Government support has also worsened the situation.