Nepal-China border trade surges following reopening of border points

KATHMANDU, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Nepal-China border trade more than doubled during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, according to the latest data released by Nepal's Department of Customs.

Following the reopening of Rasuwagadhi-Kerung and Tatopani-Zhangmu border points for two-way trade in late 2022 and May 2023, respectively, bilateral border trade rose to 94.25 billion Nepali rupees (709 million U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months of 2023-24 ending in mid-July, up from 40 billion rupees (300 million dollars) during the same period in 2022-23.

Nepal's exports to China stood at 1.63 billion rupees (12.3 million dollars), while its imports from China were worth 92.62 billion rupees (696 million dollars) during the period, showed the customs figures.

"The reopening of border points has a clear impact on the surge in bilateral trade through the land routes, as the movement of goods and people was eased," said Ram Prasad Pathak, chief customs officer at Rasuwa Customs Office.

Nepal-China trade through Rasuwagadhi-Kerung was valued at 57 billion rupees (429 million dollars) during the period, up from 28.26 billion rupees (212 million dollars) in 2022-23.

"The biggest contributor to bilateral trade was electric vehicles imported by Nepal through this border point," Pathak told Xinhua.

Nepal's total imports from China stood at 272.81 billion rupees (2.05 billion dollars) during the first 11 months of 2023-24, while the exports were worth 2.4 billion rupees (18 million dollars), according to Nepal's customs data.