June 30 : The country’s trade deficit has swelled by 17.40 to Rs Rs 1,211.97 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.
According to data from the Department of Customs, such deficit amounts to Rs 1.21 trillion, while the same stood at Rs 1.03 trillion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
Total imports of the country increased by 17.45% to Rs 1,299 billion, whereas the exports rose 18.18% to Rs 87.83 billion in the review period.
According to the data, Nepal witnessed the largest traded deficit of Rs 785.09 billion with India in the review period. This was followed by China with whom such deficit stood at Rs 184.64 billion.
Nepal’s largest imports were mineral oils, bitumen and mineral waxes worth Rs 231.72 billion during the review period.. The amount of iron and steel import stood at Rs 132.30 billion while the country spent Rs 109.87 billion on importing machinery and mechanical appliances. Vehicles and parts worth Rs 84.42 billion and electrical equipment worth Rs 81.71 billion were also imported.
Experts attribute the soaring trade deficit to the supply constraints and non-tariff barriers. “The country has not been able to increase the size of its export basket and substitute imports to arrest the ballooning trade deficit of the country,” they lament.
