Premal Kumar Khanal
International trade plays an important role in the economic development of every country. International trade basically involves import and export trade. Import trade is the process of purchasing goods available in one’s own country from other countries, while export trade is the process of exporting and selling goods produced in one’s own country to other countries. Generally: When exports are higher than imports, foreign exchange earnings increase and foreign exchange reserves increase, and the balance of payments also becomes favorable for the country.
perspective of the country’s national interest and the creation of an independent and self-reliant economy, international trade, that is, foreign trade, must be balanced. Only then can the country’s economic development be advanced in the right direction.
Looking at the trend of the country’s foreign trade situation over the past five years, imports have increased every year. However, due to the failure to increase export trade, the trade deficit has been increasing.
In the fiscal year 2076/77, Nepal’s total exports were only 97.71 billion rupees. While imports were 1.196 billion rupees. In this way, the trade deficit was 10.99 billion rupees. After that, in the fiscal year 2077/78, export trade was 141.12 billion, while import trade increased by almost 30 billion to 1539.84 billion, and the trade deficit increased by almost 300 billion to 1398.71 billion.
Similarly, in the fiscal year 2078/79, exports increased by about 60 billion to reach an export trade of 230 million rupees, while in the same fiscal year, import trade increased by about 400 million rupees to reach an import trade of 1920 billion 450 million rupees. The trade deficit in the same fiscal year reached 1720 billion 420 million rupees.
Similarly, in the fiscal year 2079/80, export trade decreased by 43 billion compared to the previous fiscal year to only 157 billion 140 million, while in the same fiscal year, import trade decreased by 300 million compared to the previous year to 161 billion 730 million, resulting in a trade deficit of 1454 billion 590 million.
Similarly, in the fiscal year 2080/81, export trade declined to only Rs 152.38 billion, while import trade was Rs 159.29 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of Rs 144.60 billion.
Nepal’s total foreign trade is 63 percent with India, 17 percent with China, and 20 percent with other countries. While Nepal is engaged in international trade, it has been trading in deficit with about 140 countries due to imports exceeding exports.
It has been seen.
This kind of imbalance in Nepal’s foreign trade did not happen overnight or in 1/2 years, it is the result of the open and liberal trade policy under the neoliberal capitalist economic policy adopted by the government for the past 3 decades. After Nepal became a member of the World Trade Organization, it was possible to do so without any problems.
As goods produced by multinational companies( MNCs) began to enter the Nepali market, domestic industries began to collapse. Since the raw materials required for Nepali industries had to be imported from abroad, and the customs duty rate on raw materials was high at the customs point, the goods produced by Nepali industries became more expensive than the goods of foreign companies, and Nepali industries gradually began to collapse. Due to the liberal trade policy, it became easier for businessmen to earn profits by importing rather than operating industrial businesses. Since the risk in trade is lower than in industry, investors have focused on trade under commercial capitalism rather than operating industrial businesses, and the pressure of import trade in the Nepali market is increasing. Commercial capitalism has not been able to increase employment in the country, due to which the number of unemployment in the country is increasing.
In the background of the above neoliberal policy in foreign trade, Nepal faces many problems and challenges in foreign trade. Neighboring countries China and India are the closest countries for Nepal’s export trade. Export trade can be increased by identifying and producing goods that are consumed in these countries, which have millions of consumers. However, due to the high cost of goods produced by industries based on expensive imported raw materials to operate industries in Nepal, the poor quality of export products and the inability to diversify production, the inability to develop sufficient physical infrastructure to support exports, and the inability to fully utilize the existing infrastructure, Nepal’s export trade has not been able to make the expected contribution to the economy.
The use of technology for production and the low productivity of both labor and capital in Nepal compared to neighboring countries, the export of only primary and agricultural-based goods, the inability to attract foreign investment due to lack of infrastructure, and the lack of quality of goods exported from Nepal have made them difficult to compete in the world market.
Due to this imbalance in foreign trade, the trade deficit has been increasing year by year, and the country’s economy has become dependent instead of self-reliant. We need to learn a lesson from the lockdown imposed by the Indian government in the past, the kind of suffering and loss that the nation and the people have to bear when the economy becomes dependent.
To protect the country’s nationality and sovereignty, it is necessary to make the country’s economy strong and self-reliant. For this, first of all, the country should be moved towards industrialization to produce the daily consumer goods and export materials needed in the country. In particular, the Megha Project should be implemented in all 7 provinces and industrial factories such as cement, fertilizer, paper, and textiles should be established.
The country has gone federal. In this context, local governments have been formed at all 753 local levels. Now, the local level itself will be self-sufficient in daily necessities and construction materials, based on the local environment, climate, availability of raw materials, etc., and “one local level one project”.
To reduce the import of petroleum products, the use of small vehicles should be gradually replaced by operating well-equipped, sajha buses. And the use of electric vehicles should be encouraged. Investment in the development of the hydropower sector should be made wisely and electricity production should be increased to balance the demand and supply of electricity. Emphasis should be placed on the development of the tourism sector to increase foreign exchange earnings. Since there is a huge potential to attract foreign tourists through religious tourism, infrastructure should be developed in archaeological and religious tourism areas to attract tourists.
The growing trade deficit and dependent economy pose serious challenges to the nation’s nationalism, independence, and sovereignty. Therefore, while foreign trade should be diversified by adopting a policy of country-specific and commodity-specific diversification and increasing export trade in exportable goods, a policy of import substitution should be adopted by increasing the production of consumer goods within the country.
वि.सं.२०८२ भदौ २२ आइतवार १२:०२ मा प्रकाशित
