JHAPA: Despite being known as an agricultural country, Nepal has seen a continuous rise in the import of agricultural products.

The import of millet via the Kakadbhitta checkpoint has increased compared to the previous year. Information Officer at the Plant Quarantine Office, Kakadbhitta, Chandra Kishor Thakur, informed that Nepal imported 17,797 tonnes of millet from India in the last fiscal year, FY 2023/24. The import amounted to Rs 854 million.

In the previous fiscal year, FY 2022/23, the country imported 16,035 metric tonnes of millet, costing Rs 513 million. As the cultivation of millet sharply declined in Nepal, imports from India and third countries have grown in recent years, Thakur added.

The rise in imports is not limited to millet. The import of vegetables has also seen a steady increase. Despite substantial production of pumpkin in the hill districts of Nepal, the market is flooded with imported pumpkins. In the last fiscal year, Nepal imported pumpkins worth Rs 211 million, totaling 5,075 metric tonnes from India via the Kakadbhitta border point.

The trend continues with other products. Last year, Nepal spent Rs 1.2 billion on importing 51,113 metric tonnes of tomatoes and Rs 295 million on 14,787 metric tonnes of green chilies. Additionally, 15,029 tonnes of okra were imported from India, costing over Rs 300.5 million.

Other regular agricultural imports from India include onions, gourds, carrots, squash, and yams. Interestingly, even buckwheat, which can be produced across Nepal's southern plains, hills, and mountainous regions, is imported in large quantities via this border. Thakur noted that over Rs 13 million was spent on importing 209 metric tonnes of buckwheat.

Livestock feed is another significant import. A total of 1,443 metric tonnes of cattle feed, costing Rs 46 million, was brought in via the Kakadbhitta border point in the last year alone. The combined cost of importing fruits and rice reached Rs 4.87 billion. Pulses (legumes) remain an essential import for Nepali cuisine.

Ironically, amidst this deluge of imports, Nepali farmers continuously worry about not finding a market for their agricultural products. -- RSS