KATHMANDU: Nepal will fall short of its growth target, a top government official said on Thursday, underscoring the troubled state of an economy grappling with a pandemic-induced loss of tourism, a widening trade deficit and soaring commodity prices.

This month, the Himalayan nation of 29 million people imposed curbs on imports of luxury goods in a bid to rein in outflows of its dwindling foreign exchange reserves and suspended its central bank governor, stoking concerns about a potential economic crisis.

Nepal’s GDP target of 7pc growth for the financial year to mid-July will be missed and growth could be “limited to only 4pc,” a senior government official with the direct knowledge of the matter said.

Sky-high prices for crude oil, coal and edible oils in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have battered Nepal’s economy which had been gradually recovering from large losses of tourist dollars during the pandemic.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2022