July 28: The import of major commodities has dropped from the country's biggest checkpoint Birgunj. Birgunj checkpoint used to be the busiest checkpoint of Nepal with the highest quantities of commodities being export and import from the point. According to the Birgunj Customs Office, import of ten major commodities that are included in the top contributors of national revenue has declined. “Import has fallen down in FY 2015/16 compared to the previous FY due to six months long Terai unrest and Indian blockade,” said Sewantak Pokharel, Chief Customs Officer. He said “The import of major commodities fell down drastically during that period of time.”

The officials of Birgunj Customs Office report that there is a heavy decline in import of vehicles which is listed number one in terms of national revenue contributors. The number of light vehicles also goes down to less than half in the last fiscal year compared to that of previous FY. The vehicles which were used to import through Birgunj checkpoint are shifted to Bhairhawa checkpoint.

According to the statistics of Birgunj Customs Office, only 5,171 vehicles under car, jeep, van segment entered Nepal through the customs point in 2015/16 down from 11,698 units in 2014/15. Meanwhile, only 70,518 two-wheelers were imported through the point against 109,435 units. Similarly, the import of vehicles chassis also declined in the review year. Only 4,184 chassis of buses and trucks entered the country through Birgunj customs, down from 4,776 during that period. As per Pokharel, only 764 minibuses entered Nepal against 1,558 during the review period. Likewise, the number of trucks and mini-trucks drops from 2,992 to 1,462 at the same period.

There is not only decrease in number of vehicles entering in Nepal but also other major commodities including petroleum products, industrial raw materials, food stuffs etc have also declined during the period. Along with the decline in the import from the checkpoint, revenue collection from it has dropped simultaneously.