The country's foreign trade has decreased marginally during the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2023/24.

According to the foreign trade statistics of the Department of Customs, foreign trade has decreased by 2.75 per cent to Rs. 984.77 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Decline in both exports and imports have contributed to a fall in foreign trade during the review period.

Imports have decreased by 2.31 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Goods worth Rs. 897.94 billion were imported in the review period. The country imported goods worth Rs. 919.16 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

Not only imports but also exports have decreased. Goods worth Rs. 86.83 billion have been exported in seven months of the current fiscal year. Goods worth Rs. 93.43 billion were exported in the first seven months of the last fiscal year.

Although exports decreased by 7.07 per cent, there was some improvement in the overall trade deficit in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

The country faces a trade deficit of Rs. 811.11 billion. This trade deficit is 1.77 percentage point less than the same period last year.

Similarly, the export of soybean oil and palm oil has decreased significantly due to reduction in import which contributed to decline in overall export during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Soybean oil worth Rs. 541 million has been exported during the first seven months of the current fiscal year while it was Rs. 8.27 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

Palm oil worth Rs. 3.59 billion and sunflower oil worth Rs. 148 million have been exported during the review period.

The country had exported palm oil worth Rs. 13.93 billion and sunflower oil worth Rs. 232 million had been exported during the first seven months of the last fiscal year.

During the review period, the country exported cement and clinker worth Rs. 2.06 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 2.35 billion, yarchhagumba worth Rs. 606 million, and cardamom worth Rs. 4.43 billion.

Meanwhile, crude soybean oil worth Rs. 8.57 billion, crude palm oil worth Rs. 8.51 billion and sunflower oil worth Rs. 9.69 billion have been imported during the review period.

The crude soybean oil worth Rs. 26.51 billion, palm oil worth Rs. 19.87 billion and sunflower worth Rs. 9.03 billion were imported during the first seven months of the last fiscal year 2021/22.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, petrol worth Rs. 38.82 billion, diesel worth Rs. 77.41 billion, kerosene worth Rs. 659 million, aviation fuel worth Rs. 11.98 billion and liquefied petroleum gas worth Rs. 30.31 billion have been imported.

Similarly, the country has imported maize worth Rs. 7.72 billion, rice and paddy worth Rs. 13.10 billion and wheat worth Rs. 6.80 billion during the review period.