Nepal bans foreign liquor and TVs

On Wednesday, officials of Nepal informed that in order to deal with the country’s trade deficit and declining foreign currency reserves, it has imposed a ban on imported liquor, playing cards, and nearly a dozen other "non-essential" goods. Nepal’s financial condition has been worsened because of reducing remittances and tourism earnings, combined with a blowout budget deficit, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nepal’s Central Bank has informed that Nepal’s reserves are only sufficient to cover just over six months of imports. A directive from Nepal’s commerce ministry on Tuesday announced restrictions on the import of several items including diamonds, large televisions, expensive mobile phones, and tobacco until the month of July.

Commerce Ministry’s joint secretary Narayan Prasad Regmi said, "This is a short-term measure taken to prevent the economic condition of the country from going bad. The government has decided to curb imports of certain luxurious and non-essential goods as the recent surge in imports has put pressure on our economy." Nepal’s central bank had already verbally directed private lenders not to issue letters of credit for luxury goods earlier this month. The country’s trade deficit increased by nearly 34.5 percent on year to $9.35 billion in mid-March, while forex reserves have declined below $10 billion.