Balancing Trade

Nepal's stubbornly high trade deficit continues to be a cause for concern. According to the statistics of the Department of Customs made public recently, Nepal has incurred a trade deficit of Rs. 1,053.42 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2023/24. Although the trade deficit decreased by 2.75 per cent compared to the same period last year, it is still large. The contribution of exports and imports to the total trade is 8.89 per cent and 91.11 per cent respectively. Owing to the declines in exports as well as imports, there was some improvement in the overall trade deficit. Foreign trade has decreased by 2.92 per cent compared to the same period last year.