Nepal's Trade Deficit Widens to Nearly NPR 1 Trillion with Five Key Nations by Mid-February

As dependence on imports continues to surge, Nepal's trade deficit is growing ever larger. According to data released by the Department of Customs up to the end of Falgun, Nepal has incurred a trade deficit of nearly NPR 1 trillion with just five countries, including neighbors India and China.

As of the end of last Falgun, Nepal recorded a trade deficit of NPR 567.39 billion with India.

During this period, Nepal imported goods worth NPR 724.06 billion from India, while exports amounted to NPR 156.66 billion.

Similarly, with neighboring China, imports reached NPR 275.66 billion against exports of NPR 983.3 million, resulting in a trade deficit of NPR 264.6836 billion. Countries where Nepal faces the largest trade deficits include Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.

Nepal's trade deficit with Argentina has increased by over NPR 75 billion, while the deficit with the United Arab Emirates stands at NPR 44.41 billion, and with Indonesia, it exceeds NPR 14 billion. Nepal also faces trade deficits with various other countries. Overall, by the end of Falgun in the current fiscal year 2082/83, the country has incurred a trade deficit of approximately NPR 11 trillion.

According to the data published by the Department of Customs up to the end of Falgun, the total foreign trade during this period reached NPR 1440.3622 billion, with a deficit of NPR 1098.1382 billion. The department stated that in the last eight months, imports totaled NPR 1289.25 billion, and exports amounted to NPR 191.1120 billion. Compared to the same period last fiscal year, imports have increased by 12.54% and exports by 29.83% in the current fiscal year.

Countries where Nepal has a trade surplus include Romania, Norway, Iceland, Niger, Iraq, and Kenya. In the last eight months, a trade surplus of NPR 506.5 million was seen with Romania, NPR 33.3 million with Norway, and NPR 25.7 million with Iceland.

Petroleum products top the list of imports during the review period. According to the department, in the last eight months, diesel worth NPR 82.1051 billion, petrol worth NPR 43.8973 billion, and LP gas worth NPR 37.3137 billion were imported.

Furthermore, crude soybean oil worth NPR 81.1864 billion was imported, along with smartphones worth NPR 29.9359 billion, iron and steel products worth NPR 36.8230 billion, gold worth NPR 23.4967 billion, and silver worth NPR 18.4478 billion.

Soybean oil ranks first among the goods Nepal exports the most. In the last eight months, soybean oil worth NPR 75.7741 billion was exported. Cardamom worth NPR 9.4961 billion, carpets worth NPR 6.5396 billion, sunflower oil worth NPR 6.2023 billion, and palm oil worth NPR 4.32 billion were also exported.

Customs data indicates that Nepal's dependence on food imports is further increasing. During the review period, rice constituted the largest share among food items imported by Nepal. The total import of paddy, rice, and basmati rice reached NPR 27.91 billion during this period, compared to NPR 24.36 billion in the same period last year.