Nepal’s trade deficit stands at Rs. 1.2 trillion in ten months

Nepal’s trade deficit stood at a staggering Rs 1.2 trillion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2022-23. According to a data published by the Department of Customs on Monday, the country’s total trade gap however narrowed by 15.85 per cent compared to trade deficit of Rs 1.4 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of the fiscal year 2021-22.

Similarly, the imports fell by 16.78 per cent to Rs 1.33 trillion in the review period compared to Rs 1.64 trillion in the corresponding period of fiscal year 2021-22. Petroleum products topped among imported commodities, followed by crude soybean oil and crude palm oil.

But at the same time, Nepal’s exports saw a bigger drop year-on-year in the review period, as per the Department of Customs data.

The country’s exports plunged by 24.49 per cent to Rs 130 billion in the review period against Rs 173 billion in the same period last fiscal year. The top export commodities were refined soyabean oil, refined palm oil and woollen carpets.

The imports-to-exports ratio in the review period stood at 10.20. This means Nepal imported $10.20 worth of goods for every dollar’s worth of goods exported. It was deterioration from the ratio of 9.26 recorded in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year.