KATHMANDU, JULY 25

The country's trade deficit stood at a staggering Rs 1.72 trillion in the fiscal year 2021-22.

According to Nepal Trade Statistics unveiled by the Department of Customs (DoC) today, the country's total trade gap surged by 23 per cent compared to Rs 1.39 trillion in the previous fiscal year 2020-21.

Despite the remarkable growth of 26.15 per cent in foreign trade to Rs 2.12 trillion in the financial year, the country recorded a massive trade deficit due to the ballooning imports.

As per the department, the import growth stood at 24.72 per cent to Rs 1.92 trillion in the review period compared to Rs 1.53 trillion in the corresponding period of fiscal 2020- 21. Petroleum products were the top import commodity, followed by crude soyabean oil and crude palm oil.

Nepal's exports saw significant improvement in the review period, as per DoC. The country's exports soared by 41.74 per cent to Rs 200 billion from mid-July 2021 to mid-July this year against Rs 141 billion in the same period of previous fiscal. The top export commodities were refined soyabean oil, refined palm oil and woollen carpets.

The imports-to-exports ratio in the review period fell by 12.01 per cent to 9.60. This means Nepal imported $9.60 worth of goods for every dollar's worth of goods exported.

It was an improvement from the 10.91 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

Nepal continues to have the highest trade deficit with its neighbours - India and China.

Nepal exported goods worth Rs 155 billion to India, while importing merchandise worth a staggering Rs 1.20 trillion from the southern neighbour, resulting in a deficit of Rs 1.04 trillion.

Similarly, exports to China amounted to Rs 8.08 billion, while imports from northern neighbour was Rs 264 billion.

The share of exports in total trade was 9.43 per cent in the review period, against 8.40 per cent in fiscal year 2020-21.The share of imports to total trade stood at 90.57 per cent in the review period compared to 91.60 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.