Nepal records 63 percent rise in foreign trade in first five months of current fiscal year

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s foreign trade has increased by 63 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal  compared to the corresponding period last year (2020-21).

The country witnessed foreign trade worth Rs 575 billion in the first five months of the last fiscal year and the figure rose to Rs 941 billion this year.

The latest data issued by the Department of Customs show that the import business also increased by 59.55 percent this year compared to the previous year.

The import in the five months of the last year was calculated at Rs 525 billion and it has jumped to 838 billion till mid-December of the current fiscal.

Likewise, the export also rose to 105.61 percent in the period in reference. Nepal’s export business was worth Rs 50.05 billion till mid-December last year and it reached 102 billion in the corresponding period this year.

According to the Department, despite the data suggesting the rise in export this year, the country’s trade deficit has further ballooned this year compared to the last year. The nation records a 54.7 percent rise in the trade deficit to calculate it at Rs 735 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Last year, it was Rs 475 billion in the corresponding period.

The contribution of imports in the country’s total foreign trade in the first five months of the last fiscal year was 91.3 percent and it went down by 2.45 percent during the current fiscal year to stand at 98.07 percent.