Exports nearly double in first month of new fiscal

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 26: Nepal’s export sector has shown remarkable growth at the start of the current fiscal year, with exports nearly doubling compared to the same period last year.

According to a trade statistics released by the Department of Customs, the country exported goods worth Rs. 23.93 billion during the first month of the current fiscal year — a sharp almost 96 per cent increase from Rs. 12.22 billion recorded in the corresponding period last fiscal year.

This surge in exports signals a promising start for the fiscal year, indicating that Nepal may surpass last year’s record-high export volume of Rs. 277 billion if the momentum continues.

The increment in the export of soybean oil, sunflower and tea and coffee has contributed to an increase in export trade during the review period.

The country has exported soybean oil worth Rs. 10.69 billion during the first month of the current fiscal year.

During the review period, export of soybean oil increased almost by 400 times as compared to same period last year. Soybean oil worth only Rs. 27 million had been exported during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. 

The share of soybean oil to the total export stands at 45 per cent during the first month of the current fiscal year.

Similarly, sunflower worth Rs. 651 million and palm oil worth Rs. 714 million were exported during the review period.

Likewise, carpet worth Rs. 870 million, garment worth Rs. 1.5 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 420 million, cardamom worth Rs. 321 million, dog chew worth Rs. 184 million have been exported during the first month of the current fiscal year. 

Meanwhile, imports also saw a modest rise during the review period. 

The total value of imported goods reached Rs. 143.04 billion during the review period. The import trade increased by 11.42 during the review month compared to import of goods worth Rs. 128.34 billion in the same month last year.

Similarly, petroleum products worth Rs. 18.18 billion have been imported during the first month of the current fiscal year.

Diesel worth Rs. 5.88 billion, petrol worth Rs. 5.77 billion, aviation fuel worth Rs. 1.28 billion and liquefied petroleum gas worth Rs. 4.66 billion were imported during the review period.

Similarly, the country imported crude soybean oil worth Rs. 10.8 billion, crude palm oil worth Rs. 1.28 billion and crude sunflower oil worth Rs. 822 million during the review month.

Foreign trade, trade deficit up

Even though exports have risen significantly, the country's trade deficit has increased due to the higher volume of imports than exports.

According to the statistics, the trade deficit increased by 2.55 per cent to Rs. 119.10 billion during the review period. 

The country had faced a trade deficit of Rs. 116.15 billion during the first month of the last fiscal year. 

Similarly, the country’s foreign trade volume has reached Rs. 166.97 billion during the review period which is 18.75 per cent more than the previous year. 

Even though exports went up significantly, the ratio of export to import is still 1:5.98. The ratio of export to import has decreased by 43 per cent during the review period as compared to the same period last fiscal year.

The share of export in the total foreign trade is only 14.33 per cent while that of import is at a whopping 85.67 per cent.