KATHMANDU, MARCH 26

Nepal's trade deficit has surged to Rs 987.39 billion in the last eight months of the current fiscal year, despite a notable rise in exports. The total foreign trade during this period reached Rs 1.3 trillion, with imports increasing by 11.2% compared to the previous year.

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Imports, including petroleum products, electric vehicles, and smartphones, have heavily contributed to the growing deficit. Petroleum imports alone amounted to Rs 78.86 billion for diesel, Rs 42.80 billion for petrol, and Rs 41 billion for LPG. Additionally, Nepal imported electric vehicles worth Rs 9.69 billion and smartphones worth Rs 21.91 billion.

The trade deficit with India alone stands at Rs 563.67 billion, with imports from India totaling Rs 688.68 billion, while exports to India amounted to just Rs 125 billion. Similarly, Nepal's trade deficit with China reached Rs 21.70 billion, with imports from China worth Rs 219.18 billion and exports at only Rs 2.12 billion.

In contrast, exports have seen a positive shift, increasing by 57.2% compared to the same period last year. Total exports reached Rs 158 billion by mid-March, with significant contributions from processed edible oil.

Among the key exports, Nepal has exported Rs 56 billion in cooking oil, including Rs 47.94 billion in soybean oil and Rs 7.98 billion in sunflower oil. Other notable exports include cardamom (Rs 5.83 billion) and carpets (Rs 4.32 billion). Nepal imports raw materials, processes them, and re-exports the final products.

Despite the trade deficit, Nepal has managed to record a trade surplus with 34 countries, including Afghanistan, Denmark, Russia, Austria, and the Maldives.