Exports witnessed an upsurge of 27.1 percent during the first three months of the current fiscal year (FY) against a mere 4.3 percent rise in the corresponding period last year, according to reports.

Exports to both India and third countries registered a phenomenal growth this year, reports quoted a press communiqué issued by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Sunday as saying.

During the current FY, exports to India saw an upward spiral by 10.1 percent against 0.6 percent recorded during the corresponding months last year. In a similar fashion, exports to third countries augmented by 58.3 percent compared to an increase of 11.9 percent last year.

Meanwhile, imports from India rose by 19.3 percent in the review period compared to a growth of 13.7 percent in the corresponding period of the last FY. The volume of imports from other countries posted a rise of 48.5 percent compared to just 12.1 percent in the last year.

Similarly, inflow of remittance from Nepali workers in foreign countries increased by a whopping 80.7 percent during the first quarter of this year. The rate of remittance growth in the first quarter of the last FY was 17.2 percent.

Likewise, overall Balance of Payment (BoP) recorded a surplus of Rs 7.7 billion in the first quarter of this FY in contrast to a deficit of Rs 5.6 billion in the same period last year.

Gross foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 230.8 billion in the first quarter of this year, up by 8.5 percent compared to the corresponding period of the last FY. At the same time, the review period of this year saw a decline of gross foreign exchange by 3.9 percent to US $3 billion. In the same period the previous year, such reserves had plummeted by 1.6 percent. nepalnews nd Dec 01 08