KATHMANDU: Despite maintaining the image of an agricultural country, Nepal imported rice worth Rs 14 billion and maize worth over Rs 9.5 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.
This comes as vast agricultural lands across the country remain fallow.
According to the latest data from the Customs Department, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 1.115 trillion during this period, with over Rs 100 billion spent on agricultural products that could potentially be produced domestically.
Rice and maize, staple food crops in Nepal, were among the top imports, highlighting the country’s growing dependence on foreign agricultural produce.
The report shows that the highest import was for soybean oil raw materials, amounting to Rs 38.29 billion.
Additionally, soybeans worth Rs 3.68 billion were imported. Sunflower oil raw materials were the second highest, totaling Rs 17.13 billion. Interestingly, Nepal exported processed soybean oil worth over Rs 32 billion and sunflower oil worth over Rs 6.5 billion to countries like India after importing raw materials from Europe.
Other major agricultural imports included garlic worth Rs 6.26 billion, apples worth Rs 5.30 billion, and basmati rice worth Rs 14.51 billion. Maize imports stood at Rs 9.41 billion, despite its high production potential from the hills to the Terai region.
Economists argue that the actual import figures could be significantly higher due to under-invoicing, customs fraud, and smuggling. They estimate that goods worth nearly double the official figures are entering Nepal through these channels.
This rising trend of agricultural imports underscores the need for Nepal to revisit its agricultural policies and strengthen domestic production to reduce dependency on foreign goods.
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