KATHMANDU, March 21: Nepal exported goods worth over Rs 158.17 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2024/25, out of which 10 goods secured earnings of over Rs 100 billion for the country.
The records maintained by the Department of Customs (DoC) show that Nepal’s earnings from export surged by 57.20 percent during mid-July 2024 and mid-March 2025, compared to the same period of the last FY. In the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the exports figure stood at Rs 100.61 billion.
According to the DoC, a total of 10 types of goods including soybean oil, yarn, sunflower oil, woolen carpet, plywood, iron sheet, large cardamom, readymade garments, fruits, and jute and related products were among the major goods that contributed in boosting the country’s earnings from exports. These goods fetched Rs 104.14 billion from their cross-border businesses. The exports of these goods stood at around Rs 47 billion in the review period last year.
The share of edible oils stood at over 35 percent of the total exports. Export earnings from soybean oil increased multifold to Rs 47.94 billion from mere Rs 754.10 million. Likewise, the earnings from sunflower oil also surged to Rs 7.98 billion from Rs 140 million.
Rise in export of edible oils drives 16.5% growth in Nepal’s ex...
Taking advantage of a clause in the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), Nepali traders used to export these oils to India, said trade experts. As the SAFTA agreement provisions zero tariffs on goods exported from underdeveloped countries, Nepali traders had been importing crude palm oil from other countries paying minimum tariffs and then exporting the finished product to India with zero tariffs.
India provides this facility to the Nepali products that have at least 30 percent value addition inside the country. However, the countries outside South Asia face a 27 percent tariff on soybean oil exports to India.
Likewise, export of yarn rose by 23 percent to Rs 9.19 billion and that of woolen carpet increased by four percent to Rs 7.21 billion. Export earnings from plywood soared by 20 percent to Rs 5.88 billion.
On the other hand, Nepal’s import expense surged by 11.20 percent to Rs 1.14 trillion during the review period. In the same period last year, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 1.03 trillion
Diesel, with an amount of Rs 78.86 billion, topped in terms of the import expense for the country. Likewise, the crude soybean oil worth Rs 51.35 billion, petrol of Rs 42.80 billion and cooking gas of Rs 41 billion were imported in the period. Overall, the country spent more than Rs 200 billion on imports of petroleum products.
With the import figures of Rs 688 billion and exports of Rs 125 billion to India, the southern neighbor stood as the topmost trading partner country of Nepal. China was in the second position, with Nepal exporting goods of Rs 2.12 billion and importing goods of Rs 2.19 billion from the country.
According to the DoC statistics, Nepal’s total eight-month foreign trade increased 15.29 percent, amounting to Rs 1.33 trillion. During this period, Nepal's trade deficit increased by 6.22 percent to Rs 929.60 billion from Rs 987.39 billion.
