The Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) and the Korean Embassy in Kathmandu jointly organized this third edition of the expo with support from the Ministry of Commerce and Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) Nepal.

The event that began on November 30, 2017 saw a participation of more than 50,000 visitors as of the concluding day.

While South Korea acted as the partner country of the expo, Thailand was the focus country, and the next edition of the expo in 2018 will have Thailand as the partner country.

Expo Generated Good Business

With a prime focus on business interactions, exchange of information on trade and marketing of Nepali products, the expo featured a total of 225 stalls that showcased wide variety of products from 8 different counties such as South Korea, India, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, China and Bangladesh along with Nepal.

Of these, 23 were Korean stalls and 15 were Thailand stalls.

According to the organizers, the expo has seen visitors of different fields and has created a good business.

“We got a good feedback from visitors and people got to know about new products from various countries,” said NCC President Rajesh Kaji Shrestha.

According to Rastra Bhusan Chakubaji, Coordinator of the expo, there exists a higher demand for cars showcased in the expo along with earthquake-resistant panels in the form of construction materials.

On the business side, “We saw sales of around Rs 20,000 every day during the expo and people even revisited our stalls to buy more products,” said a sales person of Universe Beauty, a Thailand-based cosmetic stall.

Another Thai exhibitor of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products Sujana Shakya said, “We saw strong sales in the first two days of the expo which nearly emptied our stocks. We also got offers from distributors and online shops.”

Various other products related to electronic, automobile, home appliances, fashion and accessories, food and beverages, and books were featured at the event.

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Nepal’s trade with third countries is currently on rise as the country’s traders increased their imports from France, Ukraine, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, owing to low import costs.

According to TPEC Director Suyash Khanal, changing lifestyles of Nepalese and increasing demand for diversified products resulted in the rise of imports from new trade sources.

“Importers looking to minimize costs have started trading with new suppliers,” said Khanal.

Imports

Nepal’s imports from third countries were up 69 percent in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year 2016-17, noted the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).

According to TEPC, imports from Ukraine grew three-fold to reach Rs 6.62 billion mark, with agricultural equipment and soybean oil forming the major chunk of imported products. Whereas, imports from France saw a two-fold rise to reach Rs 13.21 billion, with jewelry, wine and cosmetics being the major products imported.

Meanwhile, imports from South Korea witnessed 82 percent rise to reach Rs 8.22 billion mark during the review period. Readymade clothes, electronic appliances and vehicles form the major portion of imports from South Korea in the recent times, says TEPC.

Argentina, Latin America and Saudi Arabia are among other regions, which have increased their shipments to Nepal.

Exports

Nepal’s export to Turkey witnessed a 90.8 percent rise to reach Rs 3.6 billion mark, with yarn being the major export product. According to Khanal, yarn exports account for around 89 percent of the country’s export earnings from Turkey. Synthetic and jute fibers are among products exported.

As a whole, the country’s export earnings in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year totaled Rs 67.35 billion with 5.8 percent rise. Whereas the import expenses totaled Rs 893.09 billion witnessing 28.1 percent rise, thus widening the country’s trade deficit by 30.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Nepal’s trade with its close partner, India, takes a hit as the Indian officials beef up security checks in the Nepal-India border point at Bhairahawa in the west.

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