KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 15
The latest macroeconomic update of the Nepal Rastra Bank unveiled today revealed that the country's total trade deficit widened by 56.8 per cent year-on-year in the four months of fiscal year 2021-22 (mid-July to mid-November) to reach Rs 568.17 billion.
Such deficit had contracted 12.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Nevertheless, the export-import ratio rose to 12.6 per cent in the review period from 10 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
During the review period, merchandise exports surged by 104.3 per cent to Rs 82.12 billion compared to an increase of 10.8 per cent in the same period of the previous year. In the meantime, the merchandise imports increased 61.6 per cent to Rs 650.29 billion against a decrease of 10.6 per cent a year ago.
As per the broad economic categories (BEC), the intermediate and final consumption goods accounted for 44.13 per cent and 55.85 per cent of the total exports, respectively, whereas the ratio of capital goods in total exports remained negligible at 0.02 per cent in the review period.
In the same period of the previous fiscal, the ratio of intermediate, capital and final consumption goods stood at 32.52 per cent, 0.95 per cent and 66.53 per cent of total exports, respectively.
On the imports side, the share of intermediate goods was 53.1 per cent, capital goods 11.1 per cent and final consumption goods was 35.8 per cent in the review period. Such ratios were 50.5 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 36.6 per cent respectively in the same period of the previous year.
Net services income remained at a deficit of Rs 31.20 billion in the review period compared to a deficit of Rs 17.51 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Remittance inflows fell 7.5 per cent to Rs 312.41 billion in the review period against increase of 11.2 per cent in the same period of previous year.
The current account remained at a deficit of Rs 223.19 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 19.01 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Similarly, the balance of payments (BoP) also remained at a deficit of Rs 150.38 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 110.65 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The country's gross foreign exchange reserves decreased 10.9 per cent to $10.47 billion in mid-November, from $11.75 billion at the start of the fiscal year, that is, mid-July.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 16, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
