India has been exporting a good quantity of Laminates sheets to Nepal Market, but the establishment of local laminate production units will impact laminate exports from India. A report gathered from Nepal indicate that share of Indian companies will be hit in the coming time when there will be enough supply from new laminates manufacturing units that are going set up in Nepal this year. There is one laminate unit already running successfully that was set up in Nepal two years back. Seeing the demand and possibility of more, there are confirmed reports of 4 new laminate units, that are going to be set up in Nepal this year.
Machinery manufacturers confirm the order of 4 lines in Nepal and they also indicate 2 more lines will come later because they are in conversation to finalizing the machine orders. As per report, there would be 6 to 7 laminates manufacturing units in Nepal in Bhairwa area of each approx. 1.25 lakhs sheets manufacturing capacity every month.
Mr. Akash of Shyam Laminates, who has started manufacturing 2 years back, says that the new players are entering into laminates and Nepal based market would shift to domestic supply in coming two years but there are many challenges such as dependency on India market for our raw materials like Kraft Paper, Design Paper etc.
Retailers from Nepal say that Indian Laminates are very popular in Nepal market, because of its variety of designs, color and texture along with quality but due to increase in duty, its prices have gone up significantly. They admit that if domestic supply will improve, the market of liner laminates will immediately shift to local production.
However, the news reports indicate that Nepal's economy seems a little weak now, and banks are unable to give funds to new businesses. The forex reserves are reported to reduce drastically, and reports from economists point out that if not handled carefully, Nepal finances might be in doldrums as it is happening in Srilanka, if the present situation prevails for a longer time.