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Nepal’s Trade Deficit Increasing Due to Rise in Imports

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Nepal’s Trade Deficit Increasing Due to Rise in Imports
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July 6: Nepal has been incurring loss in foreign trade due to the big gap between import and export. Although there has been a little improvement in export of goods, the excessive increase in import is the reason behind the ever growing trade deficit.

According to data provided by the Trade and Export Promotion Center, there has been an increase in import by 28 percent in the 11 months of the current fiscal year 2016/17 while the export has gone up only by six percent in the same period.

As a result, the trade deficit during the period had increased by 30.3 percent and reached Rs 826 billion. This indicates that the country’s foreign trade deficit has become appalling in the recent years.

Experts say that the import of luxurious goods has been increasing every year but the export hasn’t increased in the same proportion, resulting in the trade deficit.

The total transaction of foreign trade in the 11 months of the current fiscal year has reached Rs 960 billion. Data provided by the center shows that foreign trade in the current fiscal year has increased by 26.2 percent as compared to the same period of last fiscal year. There were transactions worth Rs 761 billion in foreign trade in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year.

The country has been importing goods to a large extent as the internal market hasn’t been able to meet the demands of the people due to lack of increase in production in the domestic market and investment-friendly environment in the country. Officials at the center say that the balance between import and export has been affected due to these factors.

According to the center, the country imported goods worth Rs 893 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. The amount of goods imported from India was 65.5 percent of the total imports while that from China was 13.1 percent. Likewise, Nepal imported 21.4 percent of the total goods from third countries.

The chief supplies from India, which tops the list of goods suppliers to Nepal, include petroleum products, vehicle and machinery spare parts among other goods. Likewise, Nepal mostly imports telecommunication equipment, electrical appliances, machinery parts, apples and chemicals from northern neighbour China.

Medicines, raw silk, gold, silver, raw materials of plastic, chocolate top the list of goods imported from other countries.

Meanwhile, the export of goods during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year increased by 5.8 percent to Rs 67.36 billion as compared to the last fiscal year, when the country had exported goods worth Rs 63.65 billion to various countries. 

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