Food items worth Rs 63 bn imported in first three months

Kathmandu: According to the Department of Customs, food dependence of the country has increased by about 40 percent in the last three years.
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, more food items have been imported in the country compared to the same period of last fiscal year. According to the customs department, the import of food items during the period was Rs 15.90 billion more than last year.
According to the statistics of the department, food items worth Rs. 63.91 billion have been imported in the first three months of the current fiscal year. A total of 1.21 billion kg of food items were imported during the period. The government has collected revenue of Rs 11.44 billion during the import of the food items.
Similarly, Rs 48.83 billion was disbursed during the first quarter of the last Fiscal Year 2019/2020. During the same period, revenue of Rs. 8.35 billion was collected from the import of 81.9 million kg of food items.
Despite rising food imports, overall foreign trade has been declining. Imports have declined due to the inability to import goods from third countries due to corona.
In the first three months of the current Fiscal Year, goods worth Rs. 292.26 billion have been imported. In the same period, goods worth Rs. 31.46 billion were exported.
In the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, goods worth Rs. 334.94 billion were imported. Figures of the customs department show that goods worth Rs 27.16 billion were exported.