Nepal’s foreign trade grew by 15.76 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2025/26, driven by strong export growth and a steady rise in imports.
According to the latest Foreign Trade Statistics released by the Department of Customs, total trade reached Rs 1,291.63 billion between mid-July 2025 and mid-February 2026, compared to Rs 1,115.79 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Imports increased by 13.65 percent to Rs 1,123.48 billion, up from Rs 988.58 billion a year earlier. Exports recorded a sharper rise of 32.19 percent, climbing to Rs 168.14 billion from Rs 127.20 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Refined soybean oil remained Nepal’s top export, valued at Rs 66.78 billion. On the import side, crude soybean oil led the list at Rs 70.99 billion, followed by diesel worth Rs 69.91 billion, petrol at Rs 38.13 billion, and liquefied petroleum gas at Rs 31.85 billion.
Nepal’s trade deficit widened by 10.91 percent to Rs 955.34 billion, compared with Rs 861.38 billion in the same period last fiscal year.
In the last fiscal year, 2024/25, exports surged by 81.8 percent to a record Rs 277.03 billion, up from Rs 152.38 billion in 2023/24. The sharp increase was largely driven by refined edible oil shipments. Imports during the year rose by 13.25 percent to Rs 1,804.12 billion, compared with Rs 1,592.99 billion a year earlier.
Nepal exported refined soybean oil worth Rs 106.79 billion in FY 2024/25, benefiting from India’s decision to raise duties on crude and edible oil imports in mid-September 2024. Although India cut the duty at the end of May 2025 — raising concerns for Nepali refineries that enjoy duty-free access under the South Asian Free Trade Area — exports of refined edible oil have remained strong.
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