Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2023 and Its Implications on Trade Competitiveness of Tea in Nepal

Nepal Trade Integration Strategy is one of the prominent steps taken by Government of Nepal to identify and increase the export base of products having comparative advantage. Although tea was identified in every version of NTIS, the performance of the sector was dismal. This study was designed to understand the weaknesses of NTIS 2010 and NTIS 2016 and provide suggestions on how to implement NTIS 2023. Descriptive and Explanatory Mixed Method research design was used for the purpose of this study. An in-depth interview with large tea producers and informal interview with government agencies and stakeholders was taken. A lack of coherency between government and private sector, incomplete budget allocation, and lack of proper strategic plan for long term competitive advantage were found as some major obstacles in implementing NTIS in this study.