Nepal’s foreign trade volume surged by 26.04 percent in the first three months of the current fiscal year (FY 2025/26), largely driven by the festive season during this period.
According to data from the Department of Customs (DoC), the country’s total foreign trade stood at Rs 540.86 billion between mid-July and mid-October, up from Rs 429.13 billion in the same period last fiscal year.
Exports soared by 89.64 percent to Rs 72.78 billion, compared to Rs 38.37 billion in the same period of FY 2024/25. Meanwhile, imports rose by 19.79 percent to Rs 468.08 billion.
Despite the strong export growth, the share of exports in total trade fell by 4.96 percentage points to 13.46 percent, while imports accounted for 86.54 percent of total trade.
A significant portion of the import bill came from petroleum products, with Nepal spending Rs 66.87 billion—almost 92 percent of the country’s total export earnings—on fuel imports from India in the first quarter.
The export of edible oils, amounting to Rs 35.35 billion, contributed nearly half of the total export revenue. However, Nepal also spent Rs 40.27 billion importing raw materials for edible oil and animal fat production.
Imports of machinery, electrical appliances, and parts totaled Rs 34.13 billion, while iron and steel imports stood at Rs 33.55 billion, and automobile imports reached Rs 29.33 billion.
In terms of trading partners, India, China, Argentina, the UAE, and the USA were Nepal’s major trade allies. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 258 billion from India—accounting for 55.11 percent of total imports—while exporting goods worth Rs 59.12 billion to the southern neighbor.
From China, Nepal imported goods valued at Rs 104 billion, but exports to the northern neighbor remained minimal at Rs 186.4 million.
