Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: When most Nepalis hear Argentina, they think of Diego Maradona’s magic or Lionel Messi’s left foot. But behind the headlines of football glory is a surprising trade reality: Argentina emerged as third-largest import market for Nepal, after neighboring India and China, in 2024/25.
Nepal imported goods worth a staggering Rs 99.3 billion in the previous fiscal year from the South American nation, nearly eight times more than in 2023/24, when imports stood at Rs 12.38 billion. In return, Nepal exported a mere Rs 3.3 million worth of goods to Argentina, resulting in a jaw-dropping trade deficit of Rs 99.29 billion.
The sharp rise in imports in 2024/25 was driven by Argentina’s agricultural and crude oil products, which are crucial to Nepal’s domestic industries and consumer demand. The biggest component was crude soybean oil, with imports totaling Rs 88.91 billion—nearly 90% of all imports from Argentina. Crude sunflower oil followed at Rs 8.89 billion.
Nepal exported refined soybean worth Rs 106.79 billion and refined sunflower oil worth Rs 12.32 billion to India in 2024/25.
Likewise, Nepal imported massive volumes of maize, totaling over 15 million kilograms valued at Rs 1.42 billion from the South American nation. Additional imports from Argentina included 367,000 kilograms of dried beans worth Rs 38.4 million, 88,000 kilograms of dried chickpeas worth Rs 10 million and smaller volumes of kidney beans, maize seed and fresh cherries.
Even sparkling wine, personal deodorants, makeup products, laboratory reagents, combed wool, mechanical parts, gaskets, washers, and seals made their way from Argentina to Nepali shelves.
Argentina’s rise as a major trade partner has been swift. Imports stood at Rs 41.39 billion in 2020/21 and slightly dipped to Rs 39.65 billion in 2021/22. This was followed by a sharp decline over the next two years, falling to Rs 24.86 billion in 2022/23 and further to Rs 12.38 billion in 2023/24. However, in a stunning reversal, imports surged to an all-time high of Rs 99.29 billion in 2024/25.
