That calculated dollar amount results from a 43.1% increase from $1.67 billion five years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the value of Nepalese exports accelerated by 74.3% compared to $1.37 billion starting from 2024.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Nepalese rupee strengthened by 15.2% against the US dollar since 2021 and appreciated by 3.9% from 2024 to 2025. Nepal’s stronger local currency made Nepalese exports paid for starting from relatively weaker US dollars more expensive for international buyers using American currency.
Nepal’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data from 2022 shows that 94.9% of products exported from Nepal were bought by importers in: India (71.9% of the Nepalese total), United States of America (11.3%), Germany (2.5%), Türkiye (2%), United Kingdom (1.8%), France (1%), Australia (0.83%), Japan (0.8%), Canada (0.78%), Italy (0.76%), Netherlands (0.6%) and Denmark (0.55%).
From a continental perspective, 77.5% of Nepal’s exports by value was delivered to Asia countries while 12.1% was sold to importers in North America. Nepal shipped another 9.2% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Oceania (0.9%) led by Australia and New Zealand, Africa (0.2%), then Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Nepal’s population of 31.6 million people, its total US$2.4 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $75 for every resident in the South Asian country. That dollar metric surpasses the average $41 per capita one year earlier in 2024.
Nepal’s Top 10 Exports
At the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Nepalese global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Nepal.
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: US$1.1 billion (47.7% of total exports)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $104 million (4.4%)
- Manmade staple fibers: $101.3 million (4.3%)
- Textile floor coverings: $95.6 million (4%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $90.6 million (3.8%)
- Wood: $70.1 million (2.9%)
- Iron, steel: $69.4 million (2.9%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $58.4 million (2.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $57.9 million (2.4%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $55.9 million (2.3%)
Nepal’s top 10 exports generated over three-quarters (77.2%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 631.9% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was paper yarn and woven fabric via a 44.9% advance.
Nepal’s shipments of food industry waste and animal fodder posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 17.8%.
The leading decliner among Nepal’s top 10 export categories were the metals iron and steel, thanks to a -32.5% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, soya-bean oil represents Nepal’s most valuable exported product accounting for 42.5% of the country’s total. In second place were yarn made from synthetic staple fibers (3.9%) trailed by electrical energy (3.8%), knotted textile floor coverings including carpets (3.4%), sunflower, safflower and cotton-seed oil (3.2%), nutmeg and cardamoms (2.8%), non-alcoholic drinks excluding water (2.3%), woven jute fabrics (2.1%), plated or coated flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (also 2.1%), laminated wood (1.6%) then palm oil (1.3%).
The top 10 exports at the more detailed HTS level represent just over two-thirds (67.7%) of Nepalese export sales.
Products Generating Nepal’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Nepalese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: US$1.1 billion (Up by 1124.6% since 2024)
- Textile floor coverings: $89.7 million (Down by -6.7%)
- Wood: $45 million (Down by -7.3%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $40 million (Up by 1.9%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $38.1 million (Down by -0.9%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $34.1 million (Up by 46.6%)
- Vegetable plaiting materials: $27.5 million (Up by 11%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $22.9 million (Up by 32.1%)
- Lead: $6.5 million (Down by -7.3%)
- Collector items, art, antiques: $5.2 million (Up by 65.8%)
Nepal has highly positive net exports in the international trade of fats, oils and waxes as well as carpets and other textile floor coverings. In turn, these cashflows indicate Nepal’s strong competitive advantages under related product categories.
Products Causing Nepal’s Worst Trade Deficits
Overall, Nepal incurred an estimated -US$8.54 billion trade deficit for 2025, down by -8.7% compared to -$9.36 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.
Below are exports from Nepal that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Nepal’s goods trail Nepalese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$2.2 billion (Down by -0.9% since 2024)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$859.7 million (Up by 10.5%)
- Machinery including computers: -$853.1 million (Down by -2.6%)
- Vehicles: -$778.1 million (Up by 17.9%)
- Iron, steel: -$686.5 million (Up by 9.1%)
- Cereals: -$413.8 million (Up by 27.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$358.4 million (Up by 3.9%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$267.2 million (Up by 0.7%)
- Fertilizers: -$222.7 million (Up by 71.4%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$197.7 million (Up by 27.1%)
Nepal has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related category. Historically, loss leaders among these energy products were refined petroleum oils and petroleum gases.
Nepal’s Export Companies
Not one Nepalese corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Nepal. Selected examples are shown below.
- Chaudhary Group (conglomerate)
- Citizens Bank International (commercial bank)
- Deurali-Janta Pharmaceuticals (drugs and medicines)
- Giribandhu Tea Estate (beverages)
- Hulas Motors (vehicles)
- IME Group (conglomerate)
- Krishna Pauroti (bakery)
- Nepal Oil Corporation (oil, gas)
From a macroeconomic perspective, Nepal’s exported goods in 2025 represent 1.3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product on a Purchasing Power Parity basis ($180.4 billion), greater than the 0.8% for 2024. Those percentages suggest Nepal is depending more on international trade compared to other economic activities, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Nepal’s unemployment rate averaged 10.47% for 2025, down from an average 10.5% jobless rate one year earlier in 2024 according to metrics from Statista.
Nepal’s capital city is Kathmandu.
See also Nepal’s Top 10 Imports, Nepal’s Top Trading Partners, India’s Top Trading Partners, Palm Oil Exports by Country and Top Cardamoms Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on July 11, 2026
EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Nepalese Rupee (NPR) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History. Accessed on July 11, 2026
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 11, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 11, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 11, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 11, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Nepal. Accessed on July 11, 2026
Wikipedia, Nepal. Accessed on July 11, 2026