Nepal imported petroleum products worth over Rs 350 billion in one year

KATHMANDU, Aug 19: Petroleum products accounted for 18.87 percent of the country’s total import of Rs 1.592 trillion in the fiscal year 2023/24. 

According to the data of the Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC), petroleum products worth Rs 354 billion were imported in the last fiscal year.

According to the TEPC, the import of petroleum products declined by 2.9 percent in the fiscal year 2023/24 compared to the fiscal year 2022/23. Petroleum products worth Rs 397 billion were imported in the fiscal year 2022/23.

The import of Iron and steel and products made from them has also declined by 11.8 percent. In FY 2022/23, iron and steel imports stood at Rs 167 billion, whereas these imports were worth Rs 147 billion in the last fiscal year 2023/24. The share of iron and steel in the country’s total import is 9.26 percent.

Compared to the previous year, the import price of petroleum products has decreased by 2.96 percent this year. Similarly, this year, the import price of iron and steel has also dropped by 11.84 percent, that of grains by 19.12 percent, medicine by 5.62 percent, gold by 40.87 percent, polythene by 4.79 percent, chemicals by 1.20 percent., crude sunflower oil by 1.17 percent, aluminum and its products by 4.71 percent, crude soybean oil by 62.29 percent, crude palm oil by 59.10 percent, and zinc by 24.66 percent.

The import of machinery and spare parts has increased by 8.8 percent compared to the previous fiscal year. While the import value was Rs 100 billion in the previous fiscal year, it was recorded at Rs 190 billion in the last year. The import of crude soybean oil has decreased by 62.3 percent, reaching Rs 13.41 billion. The import of medicine has also decreased by 5.6 percent. The import of electric and electronic materials has increased by 7.3 percent while the import of gold decreased by 40.9 percent.