For those of us who worry that the political crisis in the country has taken its toll on the economy, it may come across as a surprise that the country registered 4.6 per cent growth rate in the current fiscal year. Although it misses the government’s target of 5 per cent growth by a margin, it is still more than the last year. 
The government’s Economic Survey, which will be made public on Saturday attributes that healthy growth to the agriculture and service sectors. According to report, the production of food grains in the fiscal 2011-12 was close to 9.5 million tones, highest yield ever. With this the contribution of agriculture in GDP will increase to 35 percent from 33 in the last fiscal year, a Finance Ministry source revealed.
Similarly, the service sector which contributes 55 percent to the GDP is also expected to grow at a healthy 6 per cent. But the economy’s bad run with the manufacturing sector continues as the sector registered mere one percent growth this year.
As a result, the country is importing large amount of goods. The rise in imports coupled with hikes in fuel prices and regular shortage due to strikes has pushed inflation rate to 8 per cent this year, while the food inflation is expected to be even higher.
The only silver lining in the economy is the rise in income from tourism and remittance, which the experts say is due to appreciation in dollar prices in the international market. Nevertheless, it has had a positive impact in the country’s Balance of Payment (BoP) and current account. The source revealed, Nepal’s balance of payment (BoP) in the current fiscal year stands at record surplus of Rs 112 billion.