Trade deficit of Rs 811 billion in first seven months

Kathmandu / Fen 21: The country has experienced a ballooning trade deficit of Rs 811 billion 110 million while making a foreign trade of Rs 984 billion 770 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2080/81 BS.

According to the foreign trade data of the reporting period, made public by the Department of Customs, imports amounting to around Rs 897 billion 944 million was made while exports amounted to Rs 86 billion 831 million was recorded as of mid-February (end of Nepali month Magh).

In comparison to the first seven months of the last fiscal year, imports have decreased by 2.31 and exports dropped by 7.07 percent. According to the Department, the trade deficit has decreased by 1.77 percent while overall trade dropped by 2.75 percent compared to last year. India is the largest trading country for Nepal. Imports from India amounted to Rs 554.75 billion, while only Rs 58.72 billion was exported.

With this, Nepal has suffered a trade deficit of Rs 496.36 billion with India alone in the seven months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal has suffered a trade deficit of Rs 171.23 billion with China, which is the second-largest trading country. Goods worth Rs 173.91 billion were imported from China till mid-February and exports worth Rs 1.85 billion were made.

Similarly, the United Arab Emirates is number three on the list of countries with a high trade deficit for Nepal. During the seven months of the current fiscal year, the imports from UAE is Rs 15.69 billion and exports is worth Rs 1.58 billion. The trade deficit with this country is Rs 14.11 billion.

Nepal has the highest trade surplus with the United States among the countries having foreign trade. In the reporting period, imports from the US amounted to Rs 9.17 billion while export was Rs 9.54 billion. The trade surplus with the US amounted to Rs 364.7 million.

As reported, Nepal has a trade deficit with Denmark, Norway, Afghanistan, and the Maldives among other countries.

The highest import during the reporting period was petroleum products. In the first seven months, diesel amounting to Rs 77.41 billion, petrol Rs 38.82 billion, and LP Gas Rs 30.31 billion were imported. Likewise, iron-related materials worth Rs 22.66 billion and smartphones worth amounting to Rs 17.38 billion were imported in the reporting period. RSS