Submit your Article

In Nepal, 27 companies produce oil using both imported and local soybeans, with most of the output exported abroad. In the last fiscal year, Nepal exported more than 500,000 tons of soybean oil. According to the Customs Department, a total of 510,063 tons of soybean oil was exported in fiscal year 2024/25.

RMC Foods Pvt Ltd was the leading exporter, shipping 43,467 tons of oil and capturing 8.43 percent of the total export market. Pashupati Edible Oil Industry ranked second with 38,727 tons (7.47 percent), while Shree Shiva Shakti Ghee Industry followed with 36,106 tons, securing around 7–8 percent of the market share.

Annapurna Vegetable Products Pvt Ltd exported 31,488 tons (6.17 percent), and Swastik Oil Industries Pvt Ltd exported 29,722 tons (5.83 percent). Sushil Vaastani Pvt Ltd (Parsa) exported 28,216 tons (5.53 percent), while Ganapati Vaastani shipped 28,292 tons (5.5 percent). OCB Foods and Feeds Pvt Ltd exported 26,312 tons (5.16 percent), and Baba Vegetable Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. followed with 25,553 tons (5.01 percent).

Siddhi Vinayak Oil Pvt. Ltd. exported 15,636 tons, accounting for about three percent of total exports. Six other companies—Shri Krishna Oil Refinery Pvt Ltd, Maruti Oil Industry Pvt Ltd, Janakpur Refinery Pvt Ltd, Nandan Ghee & Oil Industry, Bagmati Oil Industries, and Shri Ram Refine Oil Products Pvt Ltd—each held around two percent market share, exporting between 13,500 and 15,000 tons of soybean oil.

Another six companies—Sunshine Foods Pvt Ltd, Kalika Refinery Pvt Ltd, ABC Oil Industry Pvt Ltd, Siddhartha Refinery and Solvent Industry Pvt Ltd, Probiotech Industry Ltd, and Everest Solvent Pvt Ltd—exported between 7,000 and 10,000 tons each, collectively holding around one percent market share. Meanwhile, CG Oil and Derivatives Pvt Ltd and Aarti Vegetable Products Pvt Ltd exported between 3,000 and 5,000 tons, capturing 0.99 percent and 0.73 percent of the market, respectively.

According to the Customs Department, Nepal imported 317,501 tons of soybeans and soybean meal last fiscal year at a cost of Rs 21.145bn. The state collected Rs 1.59bn in revenue from these imports.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 192, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 197, 500 per tola on Sunday.

The price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 2, 355 per tola.

The financial management plan for the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, submitted seven months ago, has yet to be approved. The project, which took 10 years to prepare its financial plan for the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), is being developed by India’s Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR). GMR submitted the financial plan on Jan 17, but it has remained pending due to issues involving one of its proposed shareholders, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).

IREDA had committed to invest five percent in the 900 MW project, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not approve the investment, citing incomplete processes. IREDA has since reapplied for approval after addressing RBI’s requirements. Meanwhile, GMR has also prepared an alternative shareholding structure without IREDA, proposing 36.5 percent each for GMR and Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), and 27 percent for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). If RBI clears IREDA’s participation, however, the shareholding will remain as earlier proposed—34 percent each for GMR and Sutlej, five percent for IREDA, and 27 percent for NEA.

Investment Board spokesperson Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay confirmed that no official request has yet been received regarding the change in shareholding. The board had earlier approved Sutlej and IREDA as equity partners in its 60th meeting, and GMR had signed agreements with both in August 2025 to sell shares. According to IBN, GMR also retains the option of financing the project through the net worth of its parent company if IREDA’s investment is ultimately rejected.

GMR was awarded the project in 2008 after applying in 2006. However, the company has repeatedly extended deadlines for financial closure, including in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. The financial plan was finally submitted in 2024 along with an action plan, under which some initial works—such as access road construction and bridge preparations—have already begun.

According to GMR’s plan, pre-construction work is scheduled from early 2025 to Feb 2026, with major construction starting afterward. Diversion works are set for Jan 2026 to Aug 2027, road tunnel construction from Jan 2026 to May 2027, and the Karnali River bridge from Jan to Nov 2026. The company also plans to complete the transmission line by Jan 2026. Key components such as the headrace tunnel, dam, powerhouse, and electromechanical works are targeted for completion between 2029 and 2031, with the entire project expected to be finished by June 2031.

The project, located in Achham district, aims to supply electricity to Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. Nepal will receive Rs 4.5bn in benefits over 25 years through equity, free energy, and royalties. Initially, GMR had signed a power purchase agreement to export 500 MW to Bangladesh, but the Bangladesh government suspended such deals under the Special Power Act, and its Power Development Board has reportedly cancelled the preliminary supply agreement. However, IBN says it has not received any official communication regarding this decision.

The Upper Karnali project is considered one of the lowest-cost hydropower projects in the world, requiring only a 2.4-kilometer tunnel and displacing relatively few households. But with delays in construction, the estimated cost has already escalated to nearly Rs 2.5trn.

Both imports and exports from the Kakarbhitta customs point in Jhapa district decreased in the first month of the current fiscal year 2025/27, the customs officials shared. 

In the month of Shrawan, goods worth Rs 3.69 billion were imported, while such imports were Rs 3.88 billion in the same month in the previous year, Customs Officer Ishwar Kumar Humagain said.

Similarly, goods worth Rs 1.54 billion were exported in the month of Shrawan. Last year, the exports from the same months had surpassed Rs 1.80 billion. 

However, the revenue collection in the last month increased by Rs 151.8 million compared to the same month of the last fiscal year. Last year, the revenue collection was recorded at Rs 113.2 million.