Nepal suffered a foreign trade loss of Rs 861.38 billion out of a total of Rs 1,115.79 billion in the last seven months of the current fiscal year. The Department of Customs (DoC) released data detailing import and export figures up to mid-February. During this period, Nepal’s imports amounted to Rs 988.58 billion, while exports stood at Rs 127.20 billion.
According to the DoC, exports increased by 46.50 percent compared to the same period last year, while imports rose by 10.09 percent. Overall, total foreign trade grew by 13.30 percent. Despite this growth, the trade deficit widened by 6.20 percent compared to the previous year. Imports accounted for 88.60 percent of the total foreign trade, whereas exports contributed only 11.40 percent.
Nepal’s largest trade deficit was with India, amounting to Rs 498.34 billion. Over the past seven months, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 596.35 billion from India, while exports to India totaled Rs 98.75 billion. Similarly, Nepal recorded a trade deficit of Rs 190.45 billion with China. Imports from China stood at Rs 192.45 billion, while exports were limited to just Rs 2 billion. Other countries where Nepal experienced trade deficits include Argentina, the UAE, and Australia.
Despite the overall deficit, Nepal recorded trade surpluses with 35 countries. Notably, Nepal maintained a positive trade balance with Afghanistan, importing goods worth Rs 12.4 million while exporting goods worth Rs 494.5 million. Other countries facing trade deficits with Nepal included Denmark, Russia, Austria, Norway, and the Maldives.
The DoC noted that a significant portion of the trade deficit resulted from high spending on petroleum products, while soybean oil remained Nepal’s top export product.
