According to latest trade statistics of the Department of Customs, the country has imported petroleum products worth Rs. 101.38 billion by mid-December of the current fiscal year.
The expense for the import of petroleum products is almost 10 per cent lower in the review period as compared to same period last fiscal year.
Petroleum products worth Rs. 112.21 billion had been imported during the first five months of the last fiscal year.
Diesel consumption drops
During the review period, in terms of money, import of diesel, petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel has decreased while the import of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has increased.
The import of diesel has reduced significantly in terms of value and quantity during the review period as compared to same period last fiscal year. In terms of import value, import of diesel has decreased by 21 per cent during the review period.
Likewise, import of diesel has decreased by 17,129 kilolitres during the review period as compared to same period last fiscal year.
According to the statistics, about 472,807 kilolitres of diesel worth Rs. 42.17 billion has been imported during the review period.
The country had imported 489,936 kiloliters of diesel worth Rs. 53.90 billion during the first five months of the last fiscal year.
However, the consumption of petrol and aviation fuel has increased during the review period as compared to same period last fiscal year.
Around 306,229 kilolitres of petrol worth Rs. 26.45 billion has been imported during the review period while 281,970 kilolitres of petrol worth Rs. 28.55 billion had been imported during the first five months of the current fiscal year.
Likewise, 89,545 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs. 8.14 billion has been imported during the review period. The country had imported 78,112 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs. 8.66 billion during the first five months of the last fiscal year.
Around 4436 kilolitres of kerosene worth Rs. 406 million has been imported during the review period of the current fiscal year.
The decline in the prices of petroleum products, including diesel and petrol in the international market has contributed to reduce expenses for the import of fuel during the review period.
According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, improvement in the electricity supply in the recent years has also contributed to decrease in the consumption of diesel in the industrial sector.
The government has collected revenue of Rs. 42 billion from the import of petroleum products during the review period.
Of the total tax collected from petroleum products, Rs. 18.79 billion has been came from diesel, Rs. 17.34 billion from petrol, Rs. 1.27 billion from aviation fuel, Rs. 4.51 billion from cooking gas and Rs. 112 million from kerosene.
Cooking gas consumption up
The consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased during the first five months of the current fiscal year. The statistics showed that in terms of money, the import of LPG increased by 17.28 per cent during the review period as compared to same period last fiscal year.
In terms of consumption quantity, the fuel import has increased by 16 per cent during the review period. Around 217,775 tonnes of LPG worth Rs. 24.22 billion was imported during the review period.
During the first five months of FY 2023/24, 214,291 tonnes of LPG worth Rs. 20.65 billion had been imported.
