While the country’s imports have started to surge again, Nepal’s exports are yet to grow like in the last fiscal year. The country’s exports in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March) have been recorded as the lowest on a month-over-month basis in this fiscal year. In Falgun, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 11.363 billion.

Thanks to the massive surge in the exports of edible oils, the country’s overall exports expanded by a whopping 82.90 percent to Rs 147.74 billion in the eight months of the last fiscal year 2021/22.

However, the exports have declined by 29.07 percent to Rs 104.79 billion during the same period of the current fiscal year. As Nepal’s export of soybean and palm oils which became major exportable items in the last few years, decreased sharply, the country’s overall exports have fallen sharply in FY 2022/23.

Nepal’s exports reached an all-time high of Rs 200 billion in FY 2021/22. The country’s exports crossed the Rs 100 billion mark in the eighth month of the current fiscal year.

According to the Department of Customs, the massive decline in the exports of edible oils has dragged down the country’s overall exports this year. The export of soybean oil has plunged to Rs 8.37 billion in this fiscal year from Rs 41.40 billion in the last fiscal year while the export of palm oil has fallen to Rs 15.18 billion this year from Rs 41.33 billion in the last fiscal.

Soybean oil and palm oil emerged as Nepal’s main export items in the past few years, primarily due to tariff exemptions on Nepali exports to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. However, exports of edible oils suffered in this fiscal after India lowered its customs tariff after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed international prices of edible oils higher.

The exports of carpet, cardamom, felt, and juice have surged in this fiscal. Nepal’s carpet exports reached Rs 7.38 billion in this fiscal compared to Rs 5.89 billion in the last fiscal year. The export of cardamom has also increased this fiscal year. The country exported cardamom worth Rs 5.86 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal compared to Rs 3.25 billion during the same period of the last fiscal.

Monthly Exports

Falgun             Rs 11.363 billion Magh Rs 12.624 billion Poush Rs 13.502 billion Mangsir Rs 12.530 billion Kartik Rs 12.954 billion Ashoj Rs 13.139 billion Bhadra               Rs 13.870 billion Shrawan Rs 14.809 billion

 

Top Five Exports Items

Items	FY 2021/22	FY 2022/23
Palm Oil	Rs 35.33 billion	Rs 15.18 billion
Soyabean Oil	Rs 41.40 billion	Rs 8.37 billion
Carpet	Rs 5.89 billion	Rs 7.38 billion
Cardamom	Rs 3.25 billion	Rs 5.86 billion
Felt	Rs 3.02 billion	Rs 3.09 billion