Rice imports surge 94.6% to Rs 15.54 billion in 10 months

KATHMANDU: Despite a projected 4.04% increase in paddy production to 5.95 million tons in the current fiscal year 2024/25, rice imports have surged significantly in the first 10 months, driven by strong demand for basmati and non-basmati varieties.

Nepal imported 196.38 million kilograms of rice, worth Rs 15.54 billion, in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, latest foreign trade data shows. This represents a 157.3% increase in volume and a 94.6% rise in value compared to the same period in 2023/24. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, rice imports stood at 76.30 million kg, valued at Rs 7.98 billion.

Of the total imports in 10 months of the current fiscal year, 194.18 million kg worth Rs 15.30 billion came from India.

Basmati rice imports rose notably, reaching 59.63 million kg valued at Rs 6.54 billion in the first 10 months of 2024/25. This marks a 39.7% increase in volume and a 20.7% rise in value compared to the 42.69 million kg worth Rs 5.42 billion imported during the same period last fiscal year. Non-basmati rice imports saw an even sharper increase, with 136.74 million kg imported, valued at Rs 8.99 billion. This marks a 306.7% surge in quantity and a 251.1% jump in value from 33.62 million kg worth Rs 2.56 billion imported in the previous year.

In 2023/24, Nepal imported 88.69 million kg of rice, including 48.99 million kg of basmati rice and 39.71 million kg of non-basmati rice, worth Rs 9.29 Rs billion. Nepal imported Rs 6.23 billion worth of Basmati rice and Rs 3.05 million worth of non-Basmati rice during the period.