Trade deficit widens to Rs. 1,267 billion in nine months

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Apr. 21: The country’s trade deficit swelled to Rs. 1,267 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, driven by a significantly higher volume of imports than exports.

According to trade statistics for the first nine months published by the Department of Customs on Monday, the trade deficit surged by 13.04 per cent to reach Rs. 1,267.56 billion by mid-April of the current fiscal year.

In the first nine months of the previous fiscal year 2024/25, Nepal recorded a trade deficit of Rs. 1,121.33 billion.

A lower volume of exports compared to rising imports led to the widening trade deficit during the review period. Imports increased by 13.82 per cent to Rs. 1,490.49 billion during the review period, contributing to the higher trade deficit.

In the same period of the last fiscal year, the country had imported goods worth Rs. 1,309.53 billion. Although exports also increased by 18.46 per cent to Rs. 222.93 billion during the first nine months (mid-July 2025 to mid-April 2026) of the current fiscal year, the trade deficit widened due to the comparatively lower volume of exports.

Nepal had exported goods worth Rs. 188.19 billion during the same period last fiscal year. According to the statistics, total foreign trade has also increased. 

The country’s foreign trade reached Rs. 1,713.43 billion during the review period, which is 14.40 per cent higher than the previous year.

Despite the growth in exports, their contribution to total trade remained only 13.01 per cent during the review period, while imports accounted for 86.99 per cent. However, the share of export in total foreign trade grew by 3.55 per cent while the share of import dropped by 0.51 per cent during the review period.

The export-to-import ratio currently stands at 1:6.69, compared to 1:6.96 in the same period last fiscal year.

The growth in exports was largely driven by higher shipments of soybean oil, carpets, garments, tea, and coffee.

The country exported soybean oil worth Rs. 90.71 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Soybean oil alone accounts for almost 41 per cent of total exports during the period.  Similarly, sunflower oil worth Rs. 6.94 billion and palm oil worth Rs. 5.95 billion were exported during the review period.

Other major export items, included carpets worth Rs. 8.55 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 3 billion, cardamom worth Rs. 10.70 billion, and dog chews worth Rs. 3.23 billion.

On the import side, petroleum products worth Rs. 212 billion were imported during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. 

This includes diesel worth Rs. 103.31 billion, petrol worth Rs. 50.39 billion, aviation fuel worth Rs. 16.02 billion, kerosene worth Rs. 605 million, and liquefied petroleum gas worth Rs. 41.64 billion.

Nepal also imported significant volumes of edible oil raw materials, including crude soybean oil. The country imported crude soybean oil worth Rs. 96.72 billion, crude palm oil worth Rs. 9.61 billion, and sunflower oil worth Rs. 14.59 billion during the review period.

Likewise, food imports remained substantial, with paddy and rice imports totaling Rs. 32.51 billion and maize imports reaching Rs. 10 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.