KATHMANDU: According to the Department of Customs, Nepal's imports have reached Rs 1.4537 trillion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, down 1.84 percent compared to the same period last fiscal year when imports also amounted to Rs 1.4537 trillion. With this, exports also witnessed a slump of 3.01 percent during this fiscal year. Exports from August to June stood at Rs 139.26 billion compared to Rs 143.58 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The drop in imports and exports slashed Nepal's trade deficit by 1.72 percent. While the trade deficit last fiscal year was Rs 1.3374 trillion, in the same period of the current fiscal year it dropped to Rs 1.3144 trillion.

Major imports in these 11 months included diesel, petrol, and LPG gas. It was diesel imports that valued the highest at Rs 129.20 billion, followed by Rs 62.87 billion value of petrol imports and Rs 51.073 billion valuation of LPG gas in this period under consideration.

On the export side, carpets, cardamom, and iron and steel products were Nepal's critical exports. Nepal has exported Rs 9.7318 billion worth of carpets, Rs 7.47 billion of cardamom, and Rs 6.166 billion of iron and steel products in the first 11 months of the present fiscal year.

These figures, furnished by the Department of Customs, show the continuing trends in Nepal's international trade. They indicate fluctuations in both the import and export sectors over the past fiscal year.