Nepal records trade deficit of Rs 1.1tn in eight months

KATHMANDU: Nepal recorded a trade deficit of Rs 1,098.14 billion by the end of eight months of fiscal year 2025/26, according to the Department of Customs.

The department’s foreign trade statistics show a total trade volume of Rs 1,440.36 billion for the eight months. Imports amounted to Rs 1,289.25 billion, while exports reached Rs 191.11 billion, resulting in the reported deficit of about Rs 1,098.14 billion.

Compared with the same period in the previous fiscal year, imports rose by 12.54%, and exports increased by 29.83%.

By mid-March, the trade gap with India alone stood at Rs 567.39 billion, with imports from India valued at Rs 724.06 billion and exports to India at Rs 156.66 billion. The deficit with China was Rs 264.68 billion, based on imports of Rs 275.67 billion and exports of Rs 980 million.

Argentina ranked third among countries contributing to Nepal’s trade deficit, followed by the United Arab Emirates in fourth and Indonesia in fifth. By contrast, Nepal recorded trade surpluses with several countries, including Rs 510 million with Romania, Rs 30 million with Norway and Rs 30 million with Iceland.

Petroleum products were the largest import category during the period, with diesel imports worth Rs 82.21 billion, petrol Rs 43.90 billion and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Rs 37.31 billion. Other major imports included raw soybean oil at Rs 81.19 billion, iron products at Rs 36.82 billion, smartphones at Rs 29.94 billion, gold at Rs 23.50 billion and silver at Rs 18.45 billion.

On the export side, soybean oil was the top export item at Rs 75.77 billion over the eight months. Other notable exports were black cardamom at Rs 9.50 billion, carpets at Rs 6.54 billion, sunflower oil at Rs 6.20 billion and palm oil at Rs 4.32 billion.