Nepal's agricultural growth rate declines

Nepal's agricultural growth rate is estimated to decline 1.69 percent for first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to 2.97 percent in the same period of previous fiscal year, according to the preliminary estimates of the Nepali Central Bureau (CBS) on Thursday.

Similarly, the per capita income of people in the current fiscal year is estimated to go negative in value terms by 0.25 percent compared to the positive 0.46 percent during the previous fiscal, the CBS said.

Growth rate in other sector such as mining and quarrying, manufacturing, transport, communications and storage, finance and real estate and community and social services will also go down in the current fiscal year, the CBS said.

According to the CBS, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in the current fiscal year stands at 2.30 compared to 2.33 percent compared with the previous fiscal year.

Rudra Suwal, director at CBS, informed that the growth rate in agriculture sector is going down, due to the decline in the growth of production of foodgrains such as paddy, wheat and barley.

The growth rate in the various sectors of the economy at the regional level seems to be different, Suwal said, adding that the growth rate in mining and quarrying is estimated to decline to 2. 20 percent compared to 2.51 percent last year.

Similarly, a huge downfall is estimated in transport, communication and storage sectors from 5.09 percent in 2004-05 fiscal year to 2.24 percent in the current fiscal year, according to Suwal.

Not only that, finance and real estate growth rate is going to decline to 2.19 percent in the current fiscal year compared to 4. 63 percent in the previous fiscal year, Suwal said.

The growth rate in community and social services will also go down to 1.34 percent compared to 2.75 percent, he added.

Source: Xinhua