Nepal’s export trade may have lost steam in the past few years, but one export is racing ahead. Shipments of Nepali cabbage to India have been going at double speed this fiscal year.

According to the Department of Customs, Nepal exported 11,673 tonnes of white cabbage worth Rs136.17 million to India in just the first five months of the current fiscal year ended mid-December.

During the whole of the last fiscal year, exports of the common vegetable totalled 11,081 tonnes valued at Rs124.82 million.

Nepal's eastern hill districts have been exporting cabbage in the thousands of tonnes to India with a steep rise in demand there for organic vegetables. The cabbage is mainly produced in Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum and Dhankuta.

The harvest begins in September. Traders said that the bulk of the cabbage goes to Kolkata, India.

Due to the weather factor and fertile land, farmers in the eastern hill districts do not use much chemical fertiliser and pesticides even when growing vegetables commercially.

Because cabbage is cultivated mostly using organic methods in the eastern hill districts, demand has been growing in the Indian market.

Laxman Bhattarai, manager of the Agricultural Commodity Market Management Committee, Dharan, says cabbage has been listed as a top exportable vegetable to India. “It’s easy to export too.”

He said that demand for cabbage grows in the Nepal market when floods in the Tarai region damage the vegetable crops. “In India, demand is rising as cabbage produced in Nepal’s hills is known for being organic.”

According to Bhattarai, around 4,000 tonnes of cabbage is dispatched to the Indian market from Dharan alone during the harvest season.

Besides cabbage from the eastern hills, cabbage produced in Palung and Tistung in Makwanpur is also highly sought after in the Indian market, most of which is exported, traders said.

"This season, cabbage produced in the eastern hills fetched an average price of Rs30 per kg in the Indian market," Bhattarai said.

“With the surge in sales, farmers are being attracted towards commercial production. They have been expanding the vegetable acreage too.”

Bhattarai expects a massive rise in cabbage exports in the coming years.

Hari Dahal, a former government secretary, says vegetables produced in the hills are tastier compared to vegetables produced in the Tarai plains.

“The taste factor could be the reason behind the rise in demand. Also, vegetables produced in the hills are less exposed to pesticides compared to the Tarai.”

According to Dahal, Nepal needs to focus on import substitution as purchases of foreign products have reached alarming levels.

“Nepal’s farmlands in the hills are very suitable for organic vegetable production. The country should benefit from this because demand for organic vegetables has grown by leaps and bounds globally.”

Trade economist Posh Raj Pandey says that traders have been exporting other vegetables and passing them off as cabbage.

“Since you need a licence to export other vegetables to the Indian market, opportunist traders have been exploiting the trade preferential loopholes by labelling the shipments as cabbage.”

According to him, other vegetables also need to pass sanitary and phytosanitary standards before they can be exported.

According to the Department of Customs, Nepal’s vegetable imports plunged 26.89 percent year-on-year to Rs14.31 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year.

Vegetable exports too declined by 21.19 percent to Rs332.1 million during the review period.

Besides cabbage, exports of most major farm products except coffee have swelled in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

Shipments of tea, large cardamom, ginger, medicinal herbs, kattha (catechu of acacia) and broom grass have increased.

Tea exports from Nepal soared by 44.66 percent to Rs2.23 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Nepal exported 100,655 tonnes of tea during the review period. Nepali tea is mainly sent to India.

The export of large cardamom increased steeply by 35.63 percent to Rs2.72 billion in the review period. Exports amounted to 3,402 tonnes. Large cardamom is mainly exported to India, followed by Pakistan.

Nepal’s ginger exports shot up 148 percent to Rs434.93 million. The country dispatched 11,716 tonnes of the aromatic root during the five-month period. Nepali ginger is mainly sent to India besides Bangladesh and Qatar.

The export of yarsagumba, a caterpillar fungus, increased to Rs278.14 million in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Yarsagumba is mainly exported to Cambodia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Nepal’s export of catechu of acacia increased to Rs577.98 million in the first five months of the fiscal year from Rs416.31 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

The export of broom grass (Amriso) increased to Rs213 million. Broom grass is mainly dispatched to India.

The value of spice exports declined to Rs39.48 million from Rs57.99 million during the review period. Spices are mainly exported to India.

Nepal’s coffee exports also declined by 20.59 percent to Rs28.45 million. The country exported 184 tonnes of coffee during the review period. Coffee is mainly exported to Germany, Japan, Italy, Korea and Australia.