Kathmandu, July 25
Nepal’s trade deficit is ever-increasing and by now, it is almost equal to the annual budget size.
As of mid-July 2022 (the end of the fiscal year 2021/22), the country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1.72 trillion, the Department of Customs says. The federal government has introduced the annual budget plan worth Rs 1.79 trillion for this year.
In the recently concluded fiscal year, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 1.92 trillion whereas it was able to export goods worth as little as Rs 200.03 billion. This is the first time that the export worth has crossed Rs 200 billion though.
Here are highlights of the foreign trade in the past fiscal year 2021/22:
- Import: Rs 1.92 trillion (24.72% more than last year’s figure)
- Export: Rs 200.03 billion (41.74% more than last year’s figure)
- Trade deficit: Rs 1.72 trillion (23% more than last year’s figure)
- Total foreign trade amount: Rs 2.12 trillion (26.15% more than last year’s figure)
- Share of import in the foreign trade: 90.57%
- Share of export in the foreign trade: 9.43%
