Tibet's foreign trade down by nearly 60 per cent in 2015

BEIJING: Tibet's foreign trade mainly with Nepal and India through the Nathula border point fell by nearly 60 per cent to USD 861 million in 2015 primarily due to massive earthquakes in Nepal.

Exports of the China's autonomous region dropped by 71.9 per cent to 3.6 billion yuan, while imports were up 114.4 per cent at 2.03 billion yuan, according to the Lhasa Customs.

Tibet's foreign trade mainly with Nepal and India through the Nathula border point fell by 59.2 per cent to 5.66 billion yuan (USD 861 million).

The decrease was mainly caused by the massive earthquakes in Nepal last year, which blocked the highway to Zham, the border township where 90 per cent of China-Nepal land trade had been conducted, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal has remained Tibet's top trade partner since 2006. In 2014, Tibet's trade with Nepal exceeded 10 billion yuan, accounting for 90 per cent of the region's total foreign trade that year.