August 24: In the first month of the current fiscal year, Nepal's trade deficit has shrunk to Rs 115.71 billion.  According to data released by the Department of Customs on Wednesday, the trade deficit has decreased by 0.66 percent compared to the same month in the previous fiscal year.

In the same period last year, the country's trade deficit was Rs 116.47 billion. The trade deficit has decreased along with the decline in imports in first month of the current fiscal year. In Nepal's trade, the proportion of imports is higher than exports. For this reason, when imports decrease, the trade deficit also decreases.

According to the Department of Customs, the imports have dropped by 1.56% in the first month of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year. The country imported goods equivalent to Rs 129.23 billion during the review period.

Exports have also decreased along with imports in the first month of the current fiscal year.  According to the department, the export has declined by 8.65% in the first month compared to same period last fiscal year.  Goods and commodities worth Rs 13.52 billion were exported in the first month of the current fiscal year.