Key customs offices in the south and north that bore the brunt of last week’s anti-government protests—paralysing trade right ahead of the crucial festive season—have started to gradually return to normal.

Nepal’s foreign trade, already grappling with global headwinds from US President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes, has been passing through a rough patch. The northern border has been crippled by floods and landslides, while several customs offices along the southern frontier sustained damage during last week’s violent protests.

For nearly a week, customs operations in the south were disrupted after protestors vandalised infrastructure and systems. Some customs points suffered major structural damage, while others faced partial interruptions.

The Bhairahawa Customs Office, one of Nepal’s busiest trade gateways, was among the hardest hit. Last Tuesday, protestors torched and damaged parts of the infrastructure. The local server was disabled, and even documents were burned.

“After three days of shutdown, we have resumed customs clearance through the online system,” said Ram Prasad Regmi, chief of the Bhairahawa Customs Office. On Sunday alone, the office cleared more than 200 trucks and collected Rs270 million in revenue.

Normally, Bhairahawa generates nearly Rs450 million daily. Authorities there have temporarily halted issuing permits for Indian vehicles to enter Nepal.

The Biratnagar Customs Office also suffered damage during the unrest. “We partially resumed operations from Saturday and are now fully functional,” said Bimal Kumar Sah, the office’s information officer. On Sunday, Biratnagar collected Rs130.9 million—far below what is expected during the peak festive period. Trade declined by a few percentage points due to the protest, Sah added.

The Birgunj Customs Office, the country’s largest trading hub, remained physically unscathed but shut operations for two days last week.

Deepak Lamichhane, chief of Birgunj customs, said their revenue target for the mid-August to mid-September period was Rs22.5 billion, of which Rs18.7 billion has already been collected.

“We expect the figure to reach around Rs21 billion by Tuesday,” he said. Birgunj currently clears between 800 and 1,000 trucks daily.

India remains Nepal’s dominant trading partner. In the last fiscal year 2024-25, Nepal exported Rs224.68 billion worth of goods to India while importing Rs1.07 trillion, resulting in a trade deficit of Rs846.51 billion, according to the Department of Customs.

Traders say they are cautiously optimistic that stability will return soon. “The violent activities disrupted the flow of goods for a few days, but operations are largely back to normal now, especially at southern border points,” said Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal, president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce.

He welcomed the appointment of former finance secretary Rameshore Khanal as interim finance minister, expressing hope that he will address customs-related challenges quickly.

While trade in the south is recovering, the northern border points remain virtually shut for two months due to natural disasters.

At the Rasuwagadhi crossing, the Miteri Bridge was swept away by a flash flood from China in July, heavily damaging customs infrastructure. This route is a vital entry point for garments, electronics, footwear, and electric vehicles.

With the crossing blocked, traders have been forced to rely on porters to move limited goods through the Tatopani corridor.

But Tatopani has also been crippled by landslides. “Tatopani used to collect around Rs70 million in daily revenue from Chinese imports. Now it barely makes Rs1 million to Rs1.5 million, and on some days, even zero,” said Rajendra Prasad Chudal, chief of the Tatopani Customs Office. A massive landslide at Kodari has buried a 100-metre stretch of road on the Nepal side, he said.

“Quickly perishable goods are being carried by porters across the blocked section, but trucks remain stranded.”

Rainfall continues to complicate the situation, though maintenance work is underway. Hundreds of trucks are backed up on both the Khasa (Chinese) and Nepali sides of the border.

In fiscal year 2024-25, Nepal exported Rs2.63 billion worth of goods to China while importing Rs341.10 billion, underscoring a yawning trade gap that the continued disruption is only expected to widen.