August 30: Nepal has significantly improved its foreign trade in the first month of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22). According to the data of mid-July to mid-August released by the Department of Customs, Nepal's growth in foreign trade has also led to an increase in imports. 

According to the data, exports of Nepali goods has increased by 115 percent in July compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. In the corresponding period of the previous FY, goods worth Rs 9.62 billion were exported, which has increased to Rs 20.76 billion this year. 

Refined soybean oil was exported the most during the review period. Soybean oil worth Rs 8.98 billion were exported during the review month which accounted for 43.25 percent of the total export. 

Data show that export of products that are made by importing raw materials from abroad has increased. 

After soybean oil, the export of palm oil and sunflower oil has also increased. Palm oil worth Rs 1.42 billion were exported during this period. Likewise, sunflower oil worth Rs 790 million were exported. 

Export of synthetic yarns amounted to Rs 960 million. 

Meanwhile, imports have increased by 75 percent during this period. The import of Rs 85.80 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year has increased to Rs 150.73 billion this year. 

Mostly, petroleum products have been imported during this period. According to the department, diesel, petrol and cooking gas worth Rs 15.01 billion have been imported. Similarly, the import of mobile phones, which has been steadily increasing since July last year, increased by Rs 4.82 billion. After that, iron, food items, laptops and other items have been imported the most. 

Despite significant improvement in exports, due to the import-dependent economy, Nepal has trade deficit stands at Rs 149.31 billion.  

Economist Shankar Sharma says that Nepal has not been able to improve its exports in foreign trade. Stating that Nepal cannot make economic progress by importing raw palm, sunflower and soybean from other countries and exporting them, he said that domestic industries should be promoted. 

"The trade deficit can be reduced by exporting energy to Bangladesh via India," he said, adding, "Nepal's biggest industry is energy, so production should be increased and exported."