Nepal's Garment Industry Faces Existential Crisis Ahead of LDC Graduation

Biratnagar. At a program held in Biratnagar, garment entrepreneurs and business owners signaled that their trade is facing a crisis. The industrialists stated, 'As Nepal transitions from a Least Developed Country (LDC), the garment sector is heading toward a major crisis. The government must formulate necessary strategies for this.'

Among them was garment industry operator Devraj Dahal. He said, 'We should not just bring problems here, but be able to provide solutions. The garment industry is on the brink of a crisis.' Not only him, but many participants in the program reiterated that the industrial sector is on the edge of a crisis. Is the garment industry heading toward a crisis as Nepal becomes a developing nation? Rajendra Raut, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Koshi Province, says that after Nepal's graduation, the customs exemptions and quota-free market access facilities that LDCs have been receiving will be cut, which could lead to a decline in production and exports, along with other challenges.