Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has stated that there has been no improvement in the Nepali economy in the first quarter of 2023/24 compared to the previous fiscal year.
Contrary to the government’s claims of improvement in the country’s economy in the first quarter, CNI said that its survey shows the situation is not as the government has claimed.
“Demand has gone down, while the prices of raw materials are escalating. We are also seeing the demand for industrial raw materials decline,” CNI said in a statement issued on Monday.
According to the CNI survey, overall demand, which had decreased by 28.28% in the first quarter of 2022/23, fell by a further 12.06% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Likewise, the overall turnover of industries in the first quarter of 2023/24 is down by 7.46% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year,” CNI added in the statement.
CNI also stated that 55.32% of industrialists and businesspeople postponed their new investment plans in the first quarter of 2023/24.
Sector-wise, CNI has claimed that the demand for cement has come down by 7.36% in the first quarter while turnovers of cement producers have come down by 9.54%. Likewise, 62.5% of cement producers have postponed their new investment.
Similarly, the real estate sector has seen a 16.2% drop in demand in the first quarter of 2023/24. According to the report, their turnover has dropped by 20.8%, while 33.33% of real estate entrepreneurs have postponed their investment plans.
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, which had seen a 2.4% growth in demand in the first quarter of 2022/23, has experienced demand fall by 17.7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Total turnovers of the FMCG sector in the first quarter of 2023/24 are down by 8.52%. Likewise, about 50% of FMCG entrepreneurs postponed their investment plans in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
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