January 2: At a time when the government and the regulatory bodies are claiming that the economy has improved in in recent months, a survey conducted by the private sector has shown that there has not been any improvement in the country’s overall economy.

A survey conducted by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has shown that the economy has not improved in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as claimed by the government.

“The overall market demand has fallen. The prices of raw materials have been constantly rising. There has been a decline in the import of industrial raw materials,'' reads a press statement issued by CNI on Monday.

According to the survey, the overall market demand for the industrial products decreased by 28.28 percent last year. It has further decreased by 12.06 percent in the same period of the current fiscal year.

Compared to the first quarter of the fiscal year (FY) 2021/22, the overall demand of industries has contracted by a total of 36.93 in the corresponding period of FY 2023/24.

Similarly, the turnover of the industries had decreased by 24.94 percent in the previous year while it decreased by 30.54 this year, the report added.