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| Kathmandu, Saturday March 15, 2003 Chaitra 01, 2059. |
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Exports dip by 10.8pc
Post Report
KATHMANDU, March 14: Pressed by heavy decline in
exports to India during the first half of the current fiscal year, the total exports
recorded a double-digit plunge, despite a surge in the exports to the third countries.
According to latest trade statistics disclosed
by the Nepal Rastra Bank, the total exports volume during the period was equal to Rs 23.52
billion, down by 10.8 per cent from 26.36 billion recorded during the similar period last
year.
The statistics show that exports to India, which
is Nepal’s major trade partner, stood at Rs 12.96 billion during the review period
with a decline of 21.5 per cent compared to the total exports made during the similar
period of the last fiscal year.
The heavy decline in the exports of goods to
India is attributed to the huge plunge in the major exportable products to India. After
the imposition of quota system on major Nepali products being exported to India, the
export of copper wire has plummeted by 87 per cent, vegetable ghee by 57 per cent and
yarns by 46 per cent.
With an amendment to the Nepal-India Trade
Treaty last March, the Indian government had clamped annual quota restriction of 100,000
tons on the exports of vegetable ghee, 10,000 tons on acrylic yarn, 7,500 tons on copper
wire and 2,500 tons on zinc oxide. According to the trade statistics, the exports to India
before the renewal of treaty had surged by 33.1 per cent during the first half of the last
fiscal year.
Total export to the third countries, however,
recorded a surge of 7.1 per cent during the review period with a hefty increase in the
exports of readymade garments by over 46 per cent. Despite a decline in the export of
woollen carpets by over 29.2 per cent and Pashmina by 12.9 per cent, the export of
silverware and jewellery, Nepalese papers, tea and pulses recorded a significant increase.
The imports, unlike the exports, recorded an
increase of 10.1 per cent during the review period rising from the import equivalent to Rs
52.42 billion during the first half of the last fiscal year to Rs 57.70 billion during the
same period this fiscal year. Of the total imports, imports from India grew by 15.6 per
cent and from third countries by 6.1 per cent.
According to the statistics, there was a major
surge in the imports of textiles, medicines, vehicles and spare parts, chemicals, among
others from India, and the raw wool, textiles, petroleum products, machinery parts, among
others from the third countries. During the period, the imports of gold and threads went
down significantly.
The Central Bank statistics shows that the
exports of manufactured articles topped the list with the exports valued at Rs 8.18
billion, followed by manufactured goods valued at 8.02 billion, foods and live animals
worth Rs 3.09 billion, animal and vegetable oil and fats worth Rs 2.15 billion.
In commodity-wise classification for the export
to the third countries, the export of readymade garments was at the top with exports of Rs
5.46 billion, followed by export of woollen carpet valuing Rs 2.52 billion and pashmina
worth Rs 694.9 million.
In the import section, manufactured goods valued
at Rs 17.34 billion followed by the imports of machinery and transport equipment worth Rs
9.36 billion, fuels and lubricants of Rs 9.20 billion and chemical drugs with valued Rs
6.84 billion.
With the increase in imports and decline in
exports, the total trade deficit went up by 31.1 per cent, to remain at Rs 34.18 billion
during the first half of the current fiscal year, up from 26.06 billion during the similar
period during the last fiscal year. While the trade deficit with India surged by 131.6 per
cent, the trade deficit with the third countries increased by 5.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the volume of total foreign trade
increased by 3.1 per cent compared to the total trade figures for the similar period last
year. The total trade, according to the statistics, soared to Rs 81.22 billion during the
first half of the current fiscal year, from Rs 78.79 million of the similar period last
year.
The statistics show that the total foreign trade
with India slumped marginally by 0.4 per cent and the total foreign trade with the rest of
the world grew by 6.4 per cent. The share of foreign trade with India was 47 per cent of
the total trade volume of the first half of the current fiscal year.
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