KATHMANDU: Even though the country’s overall export trade has increased significantly, the export of cardamom, one of the major exportable items, decreased noticeably in the last fiscal year.
The country exported cardamom worth Rs. 4.81 billion in the last fiscal year 2021/22, according to the annual trade statistics of the Department of Customs. This is 31.38 per cent lower than the export of the previous fiscal year. Cardamom worth Rs. 7.01 billion was exported in the previous fiscal year 2020/21.
The overall export trade of the country increased by 41.74 per cent to Rs. 200.03 billion in the last fiscal year 2021/22. “Decline in cardamom production and fall in prices are the main reasons for decline in cardamom export in the last fiscal year,” said Nirmal Bhattarai, President of the Federation of Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs of Nepal.
The cardamom production decreased by 20 per cent to 5,200 tonnes in the last fiscal year compared to fiscal year 2020/21. About 6,500 tonnes of cardamom was produced in the previous fiscal year 2020/21. According to the statistics, about 5,300 tonnes of cardamom was exported in the last fiscal year. The quantity of exports includes the stock held by traders and farmers in the previous fiscal year, said Bhattarai.