Minister pledges help in Nepal
28/01/2009
The fifth annual exhibition of Nepalese leathergoods, shoes and sandals kicked off in the capital, Kathmandu, on January 26.
Minister for industry, Astha Laxmi Shakya, inaugurated the exhibition and said that the government was committed to promoting domestic industries. She assured leathergoods manufacturers that she would take up a proposal for reducing the existing level of custom duty on the import of raw materials for leathergoods from 15%.
Leathergoods manufacturers have complained that a 15% duty on the hides, skins and other raw materials they need, makes it difficult for them to compete with imported leathergoods, on which the duty is 20%.
According to the Leather Footwear and Goods Manufacturers' Association of Nepal, domestic-manufactured products have a market share of 35%–40% of the 12.5 million pairs of shoes and sandals sold in the Nepali market annually.
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