SATV 06 July, Kathmandu: While Nepal was elated with a significant rise in export earnings from edible oil recorded in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, the country was found to have imported similar worth of the raw materials needed for the processing of the products.

According to the records with Birgunj Customs Office (BCO), Nepal imported raw soybean oil worth Rs 52.58 billion and exported edible oil worth Rs 55.03 billion between mid-July 2024 and mid-June 2025. Compared to the imported semi-finished goods of Rs 7.37 billion in the review period last year, the import grew by multifold this year.

In the case of sunflower oil, the country faced a trade deficit even though the export earning from the product appeared to balloon during the period. Compared to the export of Rs 8.40 billion of sunflower oil, Nepal imported unprocessed sunflower oil worth Rs 9.75 billion.  

According to officials at the BCO, Nepal fails to realize maximum real benefits out of cross-border trading of the soybean and sunflower oils due to lack of raw materials production inside the country. Taking advantage of duty free quota free provision, traders seem to have attracted more on cross-border trading of the edible oils.