Petroleum Imports Cross Rs 39 Billion in Two Months – NRB Reports 7.6% Growth in Imports from India

Nepal’s dependency on India for petroleum products continued to dominate its import profile, with the latest NRB Mid-September 2025/26 report showing that petroleum imports reached Rs. 39.23 billion during the first two months of the current fiscal year. This marks a 7.6% overall growth in imports from India, underscoring the country’s rising energy consumption and import reliance amid a recovering economy.

According to Table 19 of the NRB report, petroleum products alone accounted for a significant share of the total Rs. 173.54 billion imports from India. Compared to Rs. 38.24 billion in the same period of FY 2024/25, this year’s import volume shows steady expansion as demand for transport fuel, industrial oil, and household LPG rose sharply post-Tihar.

The rise in petroleum imports aligns with the uptick in transport equipment imports (+32.9%) and chemical fertilizer (+68%), indicating broad-based industrial activity and increased agricultural demand. Despite this positive sign for domestic production and logistics, economists caution that rising oil imports could exert pressure on Nepal’s trade deficit and foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $20.4 billion as per the latest NRB macroeconomic update.

While fuel imports dominate Nepal’s trade with India, the report also highlights diverse growth across sectors, with strong increases in rice (+67.8%), bitumen (+191.6%), and agricultural machinery (+35.7%). This reflects higher domestic consumption and infrastructure activity but also exposes Nepal’s continued structural dependence on Indian supplies for key commodities.