Import of agricultural goods soars to Rs. 400 bn

Kathmandu, Aug. 11: Nepal is an agrarian country, but over the years import of agricultural goods has been growing alarmingly.  

According to annual trade statistics of Department of Customs, the country imported agricultural products worth nearly Rs. 400 billion in the last fiscal year alone. 

The statistics showed that agricultural goods worth about Rs. 394.86 billion were imported in the last fiscal year 2024/25. This is almost 54 per cent higher than the import of agricultural goods in previous fiscal year 2023/24.

Agricultural goods worth about Rs. 256.75 billion were imported in the fiscal year 2023/24.

Likewise, agricultural goods worth Rs. 296.30 billion were imported in the fiscal year 2022/23. 

This sharp rise in agricultural imports highlights the growing gap between domestic agricultural production and national demand. 

Multiple underlying causes -- shrinking arable land, youth migration, low productivity, over-reliance on traditional farming methods, and inadequate investment in modern agricultural infrastructure -- are attributed to the increasing import of agro products. 

Products such as rice, maize, lentils, vegetables, fruits, cooking oil, and livestock feed make up a large share of the import basket. However, many of these items could have been produced sufficiently in the country.

Agriculture contributes around 25 per cent to Nepal’s GDP, and two thirds of the population are engaged in the sector. However, poor policy implementation, fragmented landholding, and lack of commercialization have significantly weakened the sector’s output.

Agro products import higher than total export

Similarly, import of agricultural goods is also higher than the total export of the country in the last fiscal year. 

Nepal's imports of agricultural goods continue to outpace its exports, with a significant gap of Rs. 117.83 billion recorded in the last fiscal year 2024/25. 

Despite the growth in imports, Nepal's export performance also saw a notable boost, rising by 81.80 per cent in the last fiscal year compared to previous fiscal year.  The country exported goods worth Rs. 277.03 billion in the last fiscal year. This was record-high export from Nepal so far.

However, the export value still lags significantly behind the imports, underscoring an ongoing imbalance in the trade of agricultural goods.

Cereals worth Rs. 60.76 billion imported

The country imported cereals worth Rs. 60.76 billion in the last fiscal year, up from Rs. 45.78 billion in 2023/24.

Food imports have increased by 32.7 per cent in terms of monetary value during the last fiscal year as compared to the previous fiscal year 2023/24. In terms of quantity, the cereals import rose by 21 per cent during the review period. 

A total of 1.18 million tonnes of cereals, including paddy and rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet and buckwheat imported in the last fiscal year.

Among all cereals, the import of paddy and rice saw the most dramatic increase, with an increment of 80.7 per cent in terms of value.

The country imported rice and paddy worth Rs. 40.18 billion during last fiscal year while paddy and rice worth Rs. 22.23 billion were imported during previous fiscal year. Paddy worth Rs. 21.52 billion and rice worth Rs. 18.66 billion were imported in 2024/25.

Similarly, maize worth Rs. 19.27 billion had been imported in the last fiscal year.

Crude soybean, sunflower oil imports rise

Similarly, imports of crude soybean and sunflower oil increased during last fiscal year as compared to previous fiscal year which led to significant increase in import of overall agricultural products.

The country imported crude soybean, sunflower and palm oil worth Rs. 145.13 billion in the last fiscal year. 

The share of crude soybean, sunflower and palm oil to total agricultural imports stood at 36 per cent in the last fiscal year.

The county imported crude soybean oil worth Rs. 109 billion, sunflower oil worth Rs. 29.28 billion and palm oil worth Rs. 6.81 during the last fiscal year.

In the fiscal year 2023/24, crude soybean oil worth Rs. 13.44 billion, sunflower oil worth Rs. 18 billion and palm oil worth Rs. 10.5 billion had been imported. 

The import of crude soybean oil increased by almost 711 per cent and sunflower oil by 62 per cent during the last fiscal year as compared to previous fiscal year. However, the import of crude palm oil decreased by 92 per cent in fiscal year 2024/25 than previous fiscal year 2023/24.

Vegetables, lentils worth Rs. 37.73 billion imported

The country has imported vegetables and lentils worth above Rs. 37.73 billion in the last fiscal year. Vegetables and lentils worth Rs. 28.31 billion were imported in the fiscal year 2023/24.

During the review period, the country imported potatoes worth Rs. 7.67 billion. Similarly, tomatoes worth Rs. 571 million and onions worth Rs. 4.42 billion were imported during the last fiscal year.

The country imported garlic worth Rs. 6.75 billion, dried chickpeas worth Rs. 3.35 billion and dried beans worth Rs. 3.87 billion.

Similarly, red lentil worth Rs. 5.92 billion were imported during the review period.

Likewise, the import of fruits has continued its upward trend, with fruits worth above Rs. 21 billion imported in the fiscal year 2024/25.

According to Customs, the country imported fruits, including apples, bananas, mangoes, oranges, guavas, grapes, pomegranates, lemons and papayas, among others, worth Rs. 21. 17 billion during the last fiscal year.

The import of fruits increased by 8 per cent in terms of value during the last fiscal year as compared to previous fiscal year 2023/24.

The fruits worth Rs. 19.57 billion had entered in the country in the previous fiscal year 2023/24. Fruits worth Rs. 16.16 billion were imported in the fiscal year 2022/23.

During the last fiscal year, the country imported fruits, including bananas, apples, guavas, mangoes, oranges, grapes, papayas and pomegranates, among others, worth Rs. 21.17 billion during last fiscal year.

Among the fruits imported, apple imports were the highest during the review period.

Among the fruits imported, apple imports were the highest during the review period. The share of apples in the total fruit import stood at almost 50 per cent.

According to the Department, apples worth Rs. 10.55 billion, bananas worth Rs. 2.30 billion, grapes worth Rs. 1.91 billion, pomegranates worth Rs. 892 million, mangoes worth Rs. 642 million and lemons worth Rs. 601 million were imported.