Views of a Nepali Economist

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1. $1.6b Chinese loan for West Seti Hydel Project

...Beijing has agreed the loan for the 750 MW project...

2. Handicraft exports rise 11 percent on strong demand from China, US

Exports of Nepali handicraft products climbed 11.71 percent in the last fiscal year...amounting to Rs 3.1 billion in fiscal year 2010-11, up from Rs 2.7 billion in the previous year

Sales to mainland China:
*Rs 92.89 million in 2009/10
*Rs 207.12 million in 2010/11

Sales to Tibet Autonomous Region:
*Rs 33.16 million in 2009/10
*Rs 181.40 million in 2010/11
*That is a 500 percent increase

Sales to the US:
*Rs 739.48 million in 2009/10
*Rs 889.27 million in 2010/11
*US is the main market for Nepali silver handicrafts with exports amounting to Rs 152.9 million last year

*Exports of textile-based goods decreased by 5.08 percent
*Exports of non-textile-based goods increased by 31.72 percent

*Metal crafts were the largest export with a value of Rs 679.3 million
*Woolen goods were second with Rs 495.4 million

*The 10 largest importers of Nepalese handicrafts are (in order): US,Germany, China, Canada, Tibet, Japan, UK, France, Italy and Netherlands.

3. $7.7m Japanese grant assistance for poverty reduction

...for three projects in Nepal aimed at reducing child malnutrition, poverty reduction and greater access to clean energy for rural poor

First of the three projects, ‘Reducing Child Malnutrition through Social Protection’, seeks to enhance the system and processes for planning and delivering the government’s cash transfers, particularly the child grant in Karnali districts

Second project, ‘Support for Targeted and Sustainable Development Programe for Highly Marginalized Groups’ will provide targeted support to Dalits and Janajatis in hills

The third project, ‘Improving Gender Inclusinve Access to Clean and Renewable Energy in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka’, a regional programme for South Asia, will support the rural electrification programme of the Nepal Electricity Authority

4. Brace for costly Chinese clothes this Dashain

...rise in transportation charges and strengthening of Baht will make garments imported from Thailand expensive by around 10 to 15 percent...Also...price of readymade garments and footwear items imported from China will go up by as much as 40 percent...this Dashain

...valuation of Chinese currency has been increasing at a rate of 4.5 percent every year

...the price of cotton ...hit a 15-year high recently...it has become 80 percent more expensive this year as compared to the start of the last year

5. Jumla apples to be costlier

District Cooperatives Association (DCA), Jumla, has increased prices by 17 percent as compared to prices of the past year

The association has set differential prices based on quality of apples...
Grade ´A´ organic apples at Rs 35 per kg
Grade ´B´ at Rs 30
Grade ´C´ at Rs 20
Grade ´A´ non-organic apples at Rs 30 per kg
Grade ´B´ at Rs 25
Grade ´C´ at Rs 20

Apples produced in 14 wards of Kartikswami, Mahat and Patmara VDCs have received organic food certification from Organic Certification of Nepal.District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) plans to apply for organic certification for apples produced in all 30 VDCs in the district

And, this news should be worrying our government:

The district had produced a total of 3,300 tons of apples last year. But only 55 tons of apples produced in the district could be taken to market last year.

Labels: apples, dashain, foreign aid, handicraft, hydroppower, jumla, poverty, west seti