Before 1951 Nepal had trade relations with India and China only, but after the ending of the Rana regime, the trade relation changed worldwide from only two specific countries.
During 1956/57, the total export of Nepal was around Rs. 9.5 crore and import was around Rs. 17 crore altogether, it was around 26.5 crore. But looking at today’s data, the number increased by thousands of times.
Import and Export Partners
Nepal is involved in import and export activities with various countries, as taking partnerships is important to fulfill the basic needs of people and also for economic growth.
Nepal has import and export partnership include with countries India, China, Japan, France, USA, UAE, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and many more.
Growth Table Of Import And Export of Nepal
| Fiscal Year | Export (Rs. in crore) | Import (Rs. in crore) |
| 2012/13 | 7691.70 | 55674.00 |
| 2013/14 | 9199.10 | 71436.60 |
| 2014/15 | 8531.91 | 77468.40 |
| 2015/16 | 7011.7 | 77359.9 |
| 2016/17 | 7304.9 | 99011.3 |
| 2017/18 | 8163.3 | 124282.7 |
| 2018/19 | 9711.0 | 141853.5 |
| 2019/20 | 9770.9 | 119679.9 |
| 2020/21 | 14112.4 | 153983.7 |
The above table shows the import and export of Nepal in a specific fiscal year. As you can see, in every fiscal year, the import is very high in terms of export in Nepal, which means Nepal is always facing a trade deficit.
Nepal imports most of its goods from other countries to fulfill its basic needs. In such a situation, Nepal’s trade deficit is very high and increasing every year.
Major Exported Commodities From Nepal
| Exported Commodities | In the fiscal year 2021/22 (in millions) |
| Soyabean oil | 48120.4 |
| Palm oil | 41064.7 |
| Woolen carpet | 9565.0 |
| Polyester yarn + thread | 9515.9 |
| Jute goods | 7496.8 |
| Juice | 6074.8 |
| Readymade garments | 4882.0 |
| Cardamom | 4779.0 |
| Oil cakes | 3492.2 |
| Tea | 3427.2 |
| Textiles | 3277.9 |
| Zinc sheet | 2841.7 |
| Pashmina | 2758.2 |
| Rosin | 1853.7 |
| Noodles | 1834.1 |
| Herbs | 1629.3 |
| Medicine (Ayurvedic) | 1279.1 |
| Silverware and jewelleries | 1157.2 |
| Handicraft goods and other handicrafts | 1120.7 |
| Shoes and sandals | 1055.4 |
The above table show that the top most imported commodities from Nepal to other countries are Soyabean oil. After that, palm oil is in second, and shoes and sandals are last.
Major Imported Commodities To Nepal
| Exported Commodities | In the fiscal year 2021/22 (in millions) |
| Petroleum products | 334346.4 |
| Transport equipment, vehicle and other vehicle spare parts | 123916.9 |
| Other machinery and parts | 91571.3 |
| Medicine | 76089.7 |
| Crude soyabean oil | 56256.7 |
| Telecommunication equipments and parts | 53717.8 |
| M.S billet | 51330.3 |
| Rice/paddy | 47356.0 |
| Gold | 42691.2 |
| Coal | 39558.7 |
| Crude palm oil | 39310.7 |
| Hot rolled sheet incoil | 36585.2 |
| Electrical equipments | 33671.0 |
| Readymade garments | 30909.5 |
| Textiles | 28731.0 |
| Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron (Sponge iron) | 23981.7 |
| Thread | 23152.3 |
| Chemical fertilizer | 21363.0 |
| Electrical goods | 20969.9 |
| Computer and parts | 18928.4 |
The table shows the major commodity that is imported from other countries is petroleum products; in the fiscal year, we imported petroleum 334346.4 million. After petroleum products, we import Transport equipment, vehicle, and other vehicle spare parts and at least we import computers and parts.
Comparing both imported and exported commodities, we can see that there is no need to say that we also export some goods and commodities to other countries as the number of imports is very high.
As we can see that the top commodity we export is Soyabean oil, from which we get just 48120.4 million in the fiscal year 2021/22 but look at the amount, we pay to the top commodity petroleum product.
The amount we get from exporting all the commodities will not even be able to get the one imported commodity. This is how our country Nepal is going on the trade deficit.
Why Nepal Has Large Imports Than Export?
There are many reasons why Nepal has a large imports than the export; some of them are:
- Improper trade policy:
Nepal is adopting a liberal trade policy, which does not seem favorable to Nepal. As Nepal seems to have had a trade deficit for a long so due to the improper trade policy, Nepal is facing a trade deficit and importing more than exporting.
- Low production:
Low production is one of the main reasons behind the high import and less export. Although Nepal is an agricultural country and the majority of the people here are engaged in agricultural work, Nepal imports a large number of Agricultural goods from other countries.
Where Nepal’s production is not able to fulfill the needs of the Nepalese, how will it be able to export to other countries? Hence the production of goods is very low in Nepal. On the other hand, the production of traditional exportable goods like jute and jute products, timber, and ghee has also declined.
- Slow industrial development:
Because of political instability and a long transitional period, there is no smooth funtioning of the industrial sector in Nepal. There is still a lack of transportation, communication, skilled and trained manpower, and raw materials in Nepal, which leads to very slow industrial development.
Due to very limited industries in Nepal, Nepal has to import lots of goods and commodities from other countries and is not able to export the goods and commodities to other countries.
FAQs:
Q: What is a trade deficit?
A: Tarde deficit is the situation in which import is more than Export.
Q: What are the main imports and exports of Nepal?
A: The main import includes petroleum products, Transport equipment, vehicle and other vehicle spare parts, and medicines, whereas the main exports include soyabean oil, palm oil, and woolen carpets.
Q: What is the total import and export of Nepal?
A: The total exports are US$ 960 million, and the total imports are US$ 12,325 million.
Final Words
Import and export patterns are important for Nepal’s economic growth and to engage with the world. But the condition Nepal bears in today’s situation is not good for the economy.
So Nepal should have import and export relations with the country by not having a trade deficit. So the import and export trend can be both good and bad but remember to have more export rate than import rate for good economic conditions.
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