Nepal's foreign trade deficit stands at Rs 1,440 billion

KATHMANDU, JULY 23: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1,440 billion while carrying out foreign trade totalling Rs 1,745 billion in the last fiscal year, 2023/24. According to the foreign trade statistics of the last fiscal year released by the Department of Customs, the country imported goods worth Rs 592 billion during the period, while it exported goods worth Rs 152 billion. The import-export and overall foreign deficit decreased in the fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year, as per the statistics.

The trade deficit had reached Rs 1,768 billion in the fiscal year 2022/23, with imports worth Rs 1,611 billion and exports worth Rs 157 billion. The foreign trade deficit was Rs 1,454 billion in the previous fiscal year. Imports decreased by 1.16 percent, exports by 3.03 percent, overall foreign trade by 1.33 percent, and the foreign trade deficit by 0.96 percent in the last fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year. The ratio for the last fiscal year is equal to 10.45 percent.

India remained Nepal's largest trading partner. Nepal had a trade deficit of Rs 893.17 billion with India in the last fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 996.68 billion while it exported goods worth Rs 103.17 billion.

Nepal's second-largest trade deficit is with China, amounting to Rs 296.18 billion. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 298.77 billion while exporting goods worth Rs 258.8 million. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, and Malaysia are in third, fourth, and fifth positions respectively, with which Nepal is bearing the highest trade deficits.

Nepal Makes Highest Profit in Trade with Denmark

During the last fiscal year, Nepal achieved its highest trade profit in transactions with Denmark. It witnessed a profit of Rs 467.05 million with Denmark, with imports valued at Rs 354.05 million followed by exports worth Rs 822.01 million. The second-highest trade profit was recorded with Afghanistan, amounting to Rs 466 million. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 27.6 million from Afghanistan and exported goods valued at Rs 493.06 million.

Major Imports and Exports

In terms of the arithmetic value of imports, petroleum products topped the list.  Diesel worth Rs 143.97 billion, petrol worth Rs 68.10 billion, and LPG (cooking gas) worth Rs 55.61 billion were imported during the last fiscal.  Imports of iron products amounted to Rs 39.03 billion, while smartphones accounted for Rs 28.66 billion in imports. Likewise, Nepal imported gold worth Rs 23.65 billion.

During the period, Nepal exported various goods such as carpets, cardamom, fruit products, and steel items. It exported carpets worth Rs 10.57 billion and cardamom worth Rs 7.93 billion.