KATHMANDU, Feb 22: Nepal spent Rs 343.82 billion more money to import foreign goods during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period of the previous year. On the other hand, Nepal earned Rs 61.73 billion more from exports in the review period.

According to the Department of Customs (DoC), a huge chunk of the foreign currency of the landlocked country is being drained out to purchase foreign goods compared to slow earnings from the international market. The rate at which import expenses grew was more than five-folds of the growth rate of the export earnings.  

The records with the DoC show that government measures to check ballooning imports have become ineffective in recent days. While imports surged by 42.78 percent to Rs 1.147 trillion, exports grew by 88.30 percent to Rs 131.65 billion during mid-July 2021 and mid-February 2022.

Due to a widening gap between imports and exports, the country’s trade deficit deepened by 38.45 percent to Rs 1.015 trillion. During the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 696.24 billion from India whereas the country exported its goods worth Rs 106.35 billion to its southern neighbor. 

 
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