Nepal’s Foreign Trade Crosses ₹2 Trillion, Driven by Record Surge in Edible Oil Re-exports
29-Jul-2025 09:35 AM
Nepal’s Foreign Trade Crosses ₹2 Trillion, Driven by Record Surge in Edible Oil Re-exports
★ Compared to the previous fiscal year, exports of refined soybean oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil surged by 1,537 percent—more than 15 times.
★ This boom has dramatically altered Nepal’s trade landscape. Argentina has now become Nepal’s third-largest trade partner, as Nepal imported massive volumes of crude edible oils from there.
★ Total exports stood at ₹277 billion, out of which ₹121.53 billion came solely from edible oil exports.
★ Nepal exported a total of 576,563 tonnes of refined soybean, sunflower, and palm oils to India.
★ To support this, Nepal imported 958,901 tonnes of crude edible oil, valued at ₹144.79 billion.
★ The government earned ₹9.29 billion in customs duties from these crude oil imports.
★ Nepali traders have been exporting edible oil to India at zero duty under the SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Area) agreement.
★ This has resulted in massive profits for Nepali traders while also generating revenue for the Nepali government through both imports and exports.
★ However, on the other hand, India is incurring a loss in customs revenue due to this duty-free inflow of edible oils from Nepal.