KATHMANDU, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's external trade increased by 16.89 percent in the last nine months of the current 2024-25 fiscal year due to a rise in both imports and exports, the Department of Customs announced on Sunday.

The total trade of the South Asian country stood at 1.49 trillion Nepali rupees by April 13, up from 1.28 trillion rupees during the same period of the previous fiscal year, the department said in a report.

The imports rose by 12.18 percent to 1.3 trillion rupees, while the exports grew by 65.16 percent to 188.19 billion rupees, noted the report. (1 Nepali rupee equals 0.0073 U.S. dollar) ■