May 25: Nepal’s foreign trade has remained encouraging despite the restrictions to curb coronavirus pandemic.

According to the  Department of Customs, Nepal’s foreign trade in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year was Rs 1362 billion, which is 23 percent up from the trade volume during the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

The volume of foreign trade in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year is highest ever recorded in the last 10 years.

Similarly, exports from Nepal have increased by 32.19 percent in the review period.

According to the data released by the Customs Department,  Nepal exported goods worth Rs 108.47 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. Nepal’s export in the corresponding period of the previous year  was worth Rs 82.64 billion.

In FY 2066/67, the government had set an annual export target of Rs 100 billion. However, it took 11 years to meet the target. Nepal met the export target in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.

Similarly, the country has imported goods worth Rs 1,254.11 in the review period. Imports have increased by 22.34 percent compared to the corresponding period of last year.

According to the data, Nepal’s trade deficit has increased by 21.48 percent this year. The share of import in foreign trade is 92.4 percent, while the export is 7.96 percent.