KATHMANDU, March 2: Nepal has imported 226.4 million kilograms of paddy worth Rs 8.68 billion through the Birgunj border in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2024/25.
Paddy imports have increased by 72 percent compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. During the last fiscal year, 131.859 billion kilograms of paddy worth Rs 4.91 billion were imported through this Birgunj border. Amit Tiwari, information officer at the Birgunj Customs Office, said that there has been an increase in the import of paddy and rice in the seven months of the current fiscal year.
Nepal, an agricultural country, has been importing not only paddy but also rice from foreign countries. In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, 13.37 million kilograms of rice worth Rs 1.35 billion have been imported through this border crossing.
While in the same period last fiscal year, 8.11 million kilograms of rice worth Rs 1.06 billion was imported. In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, 57.71 million kilograms of maize worth Rs 2.96 billion have been imported. While in the same period of the last fiscal year, Nepal imported 66.49 kilograms of maize worth Rs 2.97 billion.
There has been a modest decline in maize imports during the same period of the current fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year.