JHAPA: The import of tomatoes through the Mechi Customs Office in Kakarbhitta, Nepal’s eastern border, has surged by 932 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year 2025/26.
From August to December, tomatoes worth Rs 68.47 crore were imported from India. According to Ishwor Kumar Humagain, Information Officer at the customs office, a total of 2,676,520 kg of tomatoes were imported during this period, generating Rs 8.273 million in customs revenue.
By comparison, during the same period in the previous fiscal year 2024/25, only 138,650 kg of tomatoes worth Rs 3.73 million were imported from the eastern border. Humagain noted that most of Nepal’s imported tomatoes come from India.
He added that overall vegetable imports have also increased this fiscal year. Vegetables worth Rs 1.18 billion, totaling 3.56 billion kg, have been imported from the Mechi border so far. In the same period last year, vegetable imports amounted to Rs 1.11 billion, or 3.62 billion kg.
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