Exports of Edible Oils Plunge in Nepal, Contributing to Overall Decrease in Country's Total Exports

Nepal: The exports of Nepal experienced the lowest point in Fiscal Year 2021 during Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). Goods worth Rs 11.363 billion were exported, needing a significant increase if Nepal wanted to surpass the total exports of Rs 147.74 billion from last year. Fortunately, large increases in the shipments of edible oils managed to bring that figure up by a remarkable 82.90 percent in just eight months. Nevertheless, despite imports now beginning to rise again, Nepal's overall export growth is still far from where it was before.

Nepal achieved a record-breaking export value of Rs 200 billion in FY 2021/22. However, the exports have since taken a sharp decline to Rs 104.79 billion during the current fiscal year. This drop can be attributed to a decrease in the export of Soybean and Palm Oils, which had become major sources of income for Nepal in recent years. Despite this downturn, exports crossed the Rs 100 billion mark within 8 months of FY 2022/23.

Exports of edible oils have plummeted this year, leading to a significant decrease in the country's overall exports. According to Department of Customs figures, Soybean oil exports fell from Rs 41.40 billion in the last fiscal year to Rs 8.37 billion in the current fiscal, while Palm Oil exports declined from Rs 41.33 billion to Rs 15.18 billion over the same period.

In recent years, Soybean and Palm Oil have become Nepal's main exports, largely due to tariff exemptions on Nepali exports to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. However, exports of edible oils dropped this fiscal year after India lowered its customs tariffs in response to increased international prices of edible oils following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.