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Kathmandu, Nepal, September 27, 2022: Nepal’s trade gap has narrowed down by 9.45 per cent compared to Rs 270.48 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal year, thanks to the government’s decision to give continuity to the ban on import of non-essential items or luxury items listed under different 10 categories.
A Statistics unveiled by the Department of Customs (DoC) states that government's trade deficit remains Rs 244.92 billion in the second month (mid-August to mid-September) of the current fiscal year 2022-23.
The government has been continuing the restriction on the import of 'luxury' items with the aim to manage the foreign currency reserve. Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies had extended the restriction of the luxury items since July 17, 2022, which includes two-wheelers, mobile phone sets and others.
According to the statistics the imports fell by 13.01 per cent to Rs 273.60 billion in the review period compared to Rs 314.52 billion in the corresponding period of fiscal 2021-22.
However, Nepal's exports massively dropped in the review period. According to the statistic revealed by the DoC, the country's exports has plunged by 34.88 percent to Rs 28.68 billion in the review period against Rs 44.04 billion in the same period of previous fiscal year 2021-2022.
The imports-exports ratio has surged by 33.58 percent to 9.54 percent in the review period, which means Nepal imported $9.54 worth of goods during the period. The imports-exports ratio had stood at 7.14 in corresponding period of previous fiscal year 2021-2022.
Nepal’s trade deficit is largely with the neighboring India and China. Nepal has exported goods worth Rs 19.83 billion to India while imported worth Rs 169.65 billion to incur a deficit of Rs 149.81 billion.
In the same way, Nepal imported goods amounting to Rs 37.12 billion from northern neighbor China while exported amounting to Rs 123 million incurring a trade deficit of Rs 37 billion.
