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By Our Reporter

Nepal’s trade deficit has increased further because of the higher volume of imports than exports.

According to the trade statistics made public by the Department of Customs on Sunday, the trade deficit increased by 1.52 per cent to Rs. 587.82 in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

The country had faced a trade deficit of Rs. 579 billion during the first five months of the last fiscal year. 

The trade deficit widened even though Nepal’s exports have recorded a double-digit growth during the review period.

According to the trade statistics, goods worth Rs. 73.65 billion were exported during the first five months (mid-November to mid-December) of the current fiscal year 2024/25.

This is 16.54 per cent higher than the exports of the same period last fiscal year. 

Goods worth Rs. 63.20 billion had been exported during the first five months of the last fiscal year.

Similarly, import trade increased by 3 per cent during the review period. Goods worth Rs. 661.48 billion were imported during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

In the same period of the last fiscal year, the country had imported goods worth Rs. 642.20 billion.

Similarly, the country’s foreign trade volume has reached Rs. 735.14 billion during the review period which is 4.21 per cent more than the previous year. 

Even though exports went up significantly, the ratio of exports to imports is still 1:8.98. The ratio of export to import was 1:10.16 in the same period last fiscal year.

The share of export in the total foreign trade is only 10.02 per cent while that of import is at a whopping 89.98 per cent. 

The increment in the export of soybean oil, sunflower, cardamom, carpet, garments and tea and coffee has contributed to an increase in export trade during the review period.

The country has exported soybean oil worth Rs. 8.37 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year while it had exported soybean oil worth Rs. 363 million during the same period last fiscal year.

The country exported soybean oil worth Rs. 4.96 billion in a single month from mid-November to mid-December this year.

 Similarly, sunflower oil is worth Rs. 2.97 billion, and carpets are worth Rs. 5.5 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 2.92 billion and cardamom worth Rs. 3.45 billion have been exported during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

The country exported sunflower oil worth Rs. 148 million, and carpets worth Rs. 4.9 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 1.87 billion and cardamom worth Rs. 3 billion during the first five months of the last fiscal year.

According to the Department of Customs, the country imported crude soybean oil worth Rs. 13.45 billion, palm oil worth Rs. 4.82 billion and crude sunflower oil worth Rs. 11.31 billion during the review period.

Similarly, petroleum products worth Rs. 101.3 billion have been imported during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

Diesel is the most imported commodity in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Diesel worth Rs. 42.17 billion has been imported during the period.

Meanwhile, petrol worth Rs. 26.45 billion, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) worth Rs. 24.22 billion, aviation fuel worth Rs. 8.14 billion and kerosene Rs. 406 million have been imported.