Cereal imports down; bill totals Rs. 39.64B

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 6: The import of cereals has marginally decreased during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

According to trade statistics from the Department of Customs, the country imported cereals worth around Rs. 39.64 billion during the first eight months of the fiscal year 2025/26. 

This is 7.66 per cent lower than in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Cereals worth Rs. 42.93 billion were imported during the first eight months of fiscal year 2024/25.

The import of cereals in terms of quantity has also declined by nearly 3 per cent (24,641 tonnes) during the review period compared to the same period last fiscal year.

About 830,202 tonnes of cereals—including wheat, rice, paddy, maize, barley, and millet—were imported during the review period, compared to 854,843 tonnes in the corresponding period last fiscal year.

Among all cereals, rice and paddy accounted for imports worth Rs. 28.29 billion during the review period, while imports of these two commodities stood at Rs. 29.07 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

According to the statistics, around 385,120 tonnes of paddy worth Rs. 14.24 billion and 182,810 tonnes of rice worth Rs. 14.04 billion were imported during the review period. In the corresponding period last fiscal year, 436,306 tonnes of paddy worth Rs. 16.71 billion and 154,876 tonnes of rice worth Rs. 12.36 billion were imported.

The data show that paddy imports decreased, while rice imports increased during the review period compared to the same period last fiscal year. The share of paddy and rice in total cereal imports stood at over 71 per cent during the review period.

Similarly, maize imports also declined during the review period. Around 218,908 tonnes of maize worth Rs. 9.23 billion were imported, which is 28 per cent lower than in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The country had imported 245,042 tonnes of maize worth Rs. 12.89 billion in the first eight months of the last fiscal year. In contrast, wheat imports increased significantly during the review period.

The country imported 31,159 tonnes of wheat worth Rs. 1.42 billion during the review period, compared to around 5,542 tonnes worth Rs. 268 million in the first eight months of fiscal year 2024/25.

The country also imported 702 tonnes of barley worth Rs. 31 million during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Similarly, about 2,446 tonnes of buckwheat worth Rs. 200 million and 8,970 tonnes of millet worth Rs. 450 million were imported during the review period.