Kathmandu, July 15 -- The government has updated its national trade strategy, setting an ambitious target of increasing the value of goods and services exports to 20 percent of Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) within the next two years.

Last fiscal year, exports of goods and services accounted for 8.7 percent of GDP, up from 6.3 percent in the base year of 2021-22. However, much of the increase was driven by a surge in exports of edible oils-items Nepal does not produce commercially but re-exports after importing raw oil for minimal processing.

The National Work Plan to Minimise the Trade Deficit, first introduced in 2021-22, was recently updated after three years of implementation.

Despite the revised strategy, economists and expo...