May 23: Traders of readymade garments (RMG) imported goods worth Rs 4 billion targeting the summer season. However, the imported goods are currently stuck in their godowns, as traders are unable to sell the clothes due to the lockdown. The prohibitory order aimed at controlling the spread of coronavirus has severely affected the sales of readymade garments.

Meanwhile, the traders are frustrated as the second wave of Covid-19, and the subsequent lockdown has affected their business in the peak season, forcing them to hold the imported goods in their godowns. April is the peak time for selling RMGs. Last year too, readymade garments worth Rs 3 to 4 billion were stuck in the warehouses of traders, as the summer season was about to start.

Dil Sundar Shrestha, a central member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the traders are witnessing the same situation this year.

"Last year's stock of clothes could not be sold. This year too, there is we have a stock of goods worth Rs 4 billion," he said. 

Rajeshman Shrestha, a retailer of readymade garments in Asan, had imported goods worth around Rs 1.5 million for the summer season as the coronavirus pandemic seemed to be declining. But he has not been able to sell clothes more than Rs 500,000.

"I don't know how long the lockdown will last. So I am worried that the investment in the business will sink,” he said. On the one hand, bank loans, interest, rental charge are quite high. However, he said that the business has come to a standstill and many traders like him are worried about their livelihood.

As the lockdown continues, the readymade garments stuck in traders' godowns cannot be sold in the winter. Therefore, traders say that the current investment is unlikely to return until the summer of next year.

Nepali traders import readymade garments worth Rs 30-40 billion from neighboring India and China every year during summer, winter, and during the Dashan-Tihar festivals.