Kathmandu, November 26: Remittance inflows fell 4.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 230.24 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, according to the Macroeconomic Status (mid-July to mid-October) report published recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).
In the review period of the last fiscal year, remittance inflows had grown 37.3 percent year-on-year.
The number of Nepali workers going for foreign employment saw a decline of 3.7 percent year-on-year in the first three months of the current fiscal. During the same period in the last fiscal year, departures had decreased by 34.8 percent year-on-year.
Despite a drop in remittance, the country’s balance of payments (BoP) remained at a surplus of Rs 14.43 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal compared to a deficit of Rs 35.42 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Such surplus can be attributed to the gradual rise in exports. The country’s exports surged by 14.4 percent to Rs 27.17 billion in the review period this fiscal compared to a growth of 16.1 percent in the previous year.
Mainly exports of palm oil, cardamom, medicine (ayurvedic), jute goods, yarn (polyester and others), among others, increased whereas exports of zinc sheet, juice, readymade garments, woolen carpets, wires, among others, decreased in the review period, according to the report.
The NRB reports shows that large cardamom export jumped to Rs 1.25 billion in the first three months of this fiscal year from Rs 767 million in the review period.
Meanwhile, merchandise imports slumped by 10.3 percent to Rs 334.95 billion in the first three months of current fiscal, against a rise of 43.6 percent in the same period of the previous year. The total trade deficit fell 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 307.78 billion in the first quarter, thanks to a sharp drop in the import of electrical equipment, readymade garments, petroleum products, and gold.
However, the current account registered a deficit of Rs 27.18 billion in the review period. Such deficit was recorded at Rs 81.74 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The export-import ratio increased to 8.1 percent in the review period from 6.4 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The inflation rate stood at 6.21 percent in mid-July to mid- October of 2019/20, up from 4.68 percent of the review period in fiscal 2018/19. While the food and beverage inflation stood at 7.04 percent, non-food and service inflation stood at 5.55 percent in review month.
Within the food and beverages group, prices of vegetables, meat and fish, fruits and spices subgroups rose significantly in the review month, as per the central bank. Likewise, within the non-food and service group, prices of housing and utilities, clothes and footwear, and education sub-groups rose in the review period this year.
