Nepal’s imports from China down 14.1 percent

Kathmandu, Jan 25: Nepal’s imports from China, its second largest trade partner, fell 14.1 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal 2015-16, Nepal’s central bank said on Monday. Imports have been affected by a blockade on the Indian border points and a delay in bringing the closed Khasa-Tatopani border point into operation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Imports from China declined to $342 million in the first five months of the current fiscal, which begins in mid-July, from $398 million during the same period in the previous fiscal, according to the bank. Normally, Nepal imports 25 percent of goods from China through the land route and the rest enter Nepal by sea via Kolkata, according to the Customs Department.

Imports of Chinese goods through sea have been affected due to the ongoing troubles near the Indian border, according to the bank.

“The supply of goods through the land route has also been affected due to the delay in bringing the Khasa-Tatopani customs point, which had served as the main trade route till the deadly earthquake last year, back to operation,” said Nara Bahadur Thapa, chief of research department at the bank.

Currently, the inland trade between Nepal and China is taking place through the Kerung-Rasuwagadhi trade route, which was also closed for six months after the earthquake but was reopened in October 2015. (IANS)