PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL, TRADE MISSION
VISIT ABC FLAGSHIP STORE IN NEW YORK

Nepalese officials visit ABC. From left: Kush Kuma Joshi, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry; Prashant K. Pokharel of AMI Apparel and head of the Nepal Garment Association; Pushpa Kamal  "Prachanda" Dahal, Prime Minister of Nepal; Anup B. Malla of Nepal Kangri Carpet Industry P Ltd and executive committee member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and Alex Kimia, vice president of ABC Carpet & Home, New York..

By Lissa Wyman

NEW YORK -- ABC Carpet & Home was the host to Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal "Prachanda" Dahal, who paid a visit to ABC's flagship store on Sunday, Sept. 28. Dahal made the visit as part of a fact-finding mission to discover how Nepalese products are marketed in the United States.

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal "Prachanda" Dahal, second right, walks through the ABC store with his delegation and Alex Kimia, left, ABC vice president.

 Dahal was accompanied by several members of the  Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry representing Nepal's apparel, home textiles and hand made carpet industries.

ABC Carpet & Home sells over $10 million worth of Nepalese carpets and rugs annually, according to Alex Kimia, vice president of ABC.

"There are approximately 15,000 Nepalese rugs on display at ABC, and it is an extremely important part of ABC's rug business," said Kimia.

"We are consistently among the top five importers of rugs from Nepal," he added.

ABC Carpet & Home operates four stores in the US, and also operates an ABC branch in Harrod's Department stores in London and a free-standing store in the Kew district of London.

In addition to rugs, ABC sells carpeting, floor covering, and all categories of  home furnishings.

In addition to ABC, other major importers of Nepalese rugs include Tufenkian, Odegard and Tamarian.

Carpet and rug imports from Nepal are on the increase this year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Nepal exported $20.6 million worth of carpets and rugs to the US from January through July 2008, an increase of nearly 12% compared to the $18.5 million worth of carpets and rugs sent to the US in the same period last year. For all of 2007, Nepal exported $35.8 million worth of rugs to the US.

To see more statistics on carpet and rug imports from the US Department of Commerce, click here.

To learn more about the Democratic Federal Republic of Nepal, click here.

A partial view of ABC Nepalese rugs displayed at the
flagship floor covering store in New York City.

Anup B. Malla of  Nepal Kangri Carpet Industry P Ltd and executive committee member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and Alex Kimia, vice president of ABC Carpet & Home.

9.29.08