Handicraft exports during the current fiscal year 2002-3 went down to Rs 2.5 billion from Rs 2.7 billion in 2001-2 says the Handicraft Association of Nepal (HAN). These figures are a far cry from boom times in 1999, when handicrafts worth Rs 7.16 billion were exported. The numbers slipped to Rs 6.82 billion the year after that and continues to dip. Yet, handicraft exporters are not worried. They believe the numbers have been affected by the slump in pashmina exports, once the top grossing item in the handicraft sector. The turnover for this product has dropped from Rs 5.7 billion in 2001 to Rs 1.4 billion in 2002 to just Rs 989.9 million this year. "The main problem is due to pashmina manufacturers mushrooming in Nepal and a subsequent loss of quality," Krishna Sundar Hada of HAN told us. Importers from the US and Europe, Nepal's two largest pashmina markets, reported that Indian companies are selling low quality products with a \'Made in Nepal' label at very cheap rates, a possible reason for the fall in demand. However, there is some good news: HAN has noted a positive increase in handmade paper and silver jewellery. Nepali paper products went from Rs 65.3 million in 1987 to Rs 275. 3 million this year and doesn't show any signs of slowing. The export of silver jewellery, estimated as Rs 353 million, has been the highest this year compared to the last seven years. Top importers are the US, France, Belguim, Japan and India.