A modern Chyangra fibre de-dusting plant has been established in Lo Manthang of Mustang district to support the collection of quality fibre from the local level for Chyangra pashmina.

Rob Fenn, the British Ambassador to Nepal, Tashi Nhurbu Gurung, Chairman, and Chhyumi Bista, Deputy Chairman of Lo Manthang rural municipality, jointly inaugurated the plant on Sunday in Lo Manthang.

Famed for its unique quality, Nepal’s hand-woven Pashmina embodies the country’s culture and heritage and is highly coveted in international markets.

Established by the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association with support from the United Kingdom Trade Partnership Programme Nepal and the International Trade Centre, the plant will strengthen the supply of high-quality Chyangra fibre for the production and export of Nepal’s pashmina.

During the inauguration, ambassador Fenn expressed happiness to help build Nepal’s Chyangra brand from farm to fashion.

“The UK is already involved ‘downstream’, accompanying Nepali Chyangra entrepreneurs to London Source Fashion Week. Now I have come ‘upstream’, the Kaligandaki, to be precise, to meet farmers in Upper Mustang. I can now tell the story of the whole value chain. And, alongside the inherent quality of ‘cent percent Chyangra’, it’s the extraordinary stories that can be woven around anything ‘Made in Nepal’ that give Nepali exports an edge, especially in UK markets,” Fen said.

Fenn also observed and initiated the Chyangra fibre harvesting process in Lomanthang.

Tashi Nhurbu Gurung, Chairman of Lo Manthang rural municipality, expressed the local government’s commitment to promoting Chyangra production and fibre harvesting to create employment opportunities and increase income for locals, especially youth and women.

He voiced readiness to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to further this goal.

Dhan Prasad Lamichhane, President of the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA), noted that pashmina entrepreneurs are striving to integrate local Chyangra farmers into the pashmina value chain, offering them better prices and markets.

He also expressed the association’s keen interest in collaborating with the Nepal government and development partners, including UKTP and the International Trade Centre, to strengthen the Pashmina value chain by establishing robust backward and forward linkages.

The Nepal government has identified Chyangra pashmina as one of Nepal’s high-potential

export products.

Last year, Nepal launched the Nepal Pashmina Sector Export National Strategy 2022-2026, aiming to increase Pashmina exports to $75 million by 2026.

Recently, the government also released the Pashmina Export Facilitation Guide, targeting SMEs involved in pashmina export.