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Handicraft Trade Fair kicks off
The 16th Handicraft Trade Fair and 12th Craft Competition kicks off today at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu, with an objective of promoting exports of Nepali handicrafts.The 16th Handicraft Trade Fair and 12th Craft Competition kicks off today at the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu, with an objective of promoting exports of Nepali handicrafts.
The five-day fair, organised by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal (FHAN) in association with Trade and Export Promotion Centre, will feature more than 200 stalls from 45 districts displaying various handicraft products, arts and crafts, gift items, pottery and among others.
The organiser said that 20 stalls have been allotted for sellers from countries like India, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The fair will be a platform to promote Nepali products in the international market, said Dharma Raj Shakya, president of FHAN.
According to him, Nepali products like handicraft, wooden craft, pashmina, handmade papers, leather shoes, jewelleries and bamboo products, among others will be displayed at the expo.
The fair will also promote cultural and traditional attires of different regions of the country. Handicraft products have a huge demand in the national and international market. FHAN exports more than 50 different types of handicraft products to almost 80 countries.
According to FHAN, the handicraft sector has provided employment to around 1.1 million people directly or indirectly. FHAN has been organising the Handicraft Trade Fair since 1991 to promote traditional and contemporary art and crafts and culture of Nepal.
According to the export data released by FHAN, the export of Nepali handicraft products has decreased by three percent in the last fiscal year 2017-18 in comparison to fiscal year 2016-17. The country exported Rs5.21 billion worth of handicraft products in the last fiscal year in comparison to previous fiscal year’s Rs5.39 billion.
Similarly, the export of textile handicraft products (such as pashmina, wool and cotton) has decreased by one percent. Nepal exported textile handicrafts worth Rs2.47 billion in the last fiscal in comparison to previous fiscal year’s Rs2.48 billion.
Nepal exported pashmina worth Rs216.9 million in the previous fiscal year, while the amount decreased by 15 percent to Rs185.1 million in the last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the export of non-textile handicraft products has decreased by six percent. Nepal exported handicraft products worth Rs2.74 billion in the last fiscal year, while it exported Rs2.90 billion worth of goods in the previous fiscal year.
The export of non-textile products such as silver jewellery, handmade papers, wood crafts, glass products, leather goods, incense, thanka paintings, ceramic products, beads items, bamboo products and stone crafts has decreased in the last fiscal year in comparison to the previous fiscal year.
The export of handmade papers has also decreased by eight percent, amounting to Rs393.9 million in the last fiscal year as compared to the previous fiscal year’s Rs428.902 million.