Black Cardamom Exports Surge 44% in First Two Months of FY 2025/26, Tea Shipments Fall

Nepal’s black cardamom exports through the Mechi Customs Office jumped 43.9 percent in the first two months of the current fiscal year 2025/26 (mid-July to mid-September), while tea exports—a key cash crop from the eastern hills—registered a sharp decline, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.

According to Mechi Customs, black cardamom worth Rs 859.6 million (about USD 6.5 million) was exported during the review period, up from Rs 597.3 million a year earlier. Information Officer Ishwarkumar Humagain at Mechi Customs, which handles the majority of Nepal’s tea and cardamom exports, told RSS that a total of 522 metric tons of black cardamom were shipped during the review period.

Black cardamom is grown in 42 districts across Nepal, but production is concentrated in districts of Koshi Province such as Panchthar, Taplejung, Ilam, Sankhuwasabha, Khotang, Bhojpur, and Tehrathum. The province alone has more than 7,500 hectares under cultivation, making Mechi Customs the country’s main gateway for cardamom trade.

Tea, another major export crop from the eastern hills, saw a 34 percent drop in shipments through Mechi Customs during the two-month period, with exports falling to Rs 750.3 million from Rs 1.37 billion a year ago, Humagain told RSS.

This decline marks a reversal of last fiscal year’s upward trend, when Mechi Customs handled tea exports worth Rs 4.21 billion—up 32.5 percent from Rs 3.18 billion the previous year. Koshi Province contributes about 99 percent of the country’s tea exports.

Overall, Mechi Customs recorded total exports worth Rs 3.06 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year. Other notable changes included a sharp rise in exports of chhurpi (hard cheese) by 98.3 percent, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage by 155.2 percent, veneer sheets by 74 percent, and lentils by an exceptional 655.1 percent. In contrast, shipments of zinc sheets declined 93.4 percent, ginger 41.8 percent, and broom grass (amriso) 30.1 percent.

Nepal’s major export basket also includes soybean oil, palm oil, polyester yarn and thread, jute goods, woolen carpets, and oil cakes, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.