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Nepal is developing county
with an agricultural economy. In
recent years, the country's efforts
to expand into manufacturing
industries and other technological
sectors have achieved much progress.
Farming is the main economic
activity followed by manufacturing,
trade and tourism. The chief sources
of foreign currency earnings are
marchandise export, services,
tourism and Gurkha remittances. The
annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
is about US$ 4.3 Billion.
Agriculture : Eight out of 10
Nepalese are engaged in farming and
it accounts for more than 40% of the
GDP. Rolling fields and neat
terraces can be seen all over the
Terai flatlands and the hills of
Nepal. Even in the highly urbanized
Kathmandu Valley, large tracts of
land outside the city areas are
devoted to farming. Rice is the
staple diet in Nepal and around
three million tons are produced
annually. Other major crops are
maize, wheat, millet and barley.
Besides food grains, Cash crops Like
Sugarcane, oil seeds, tobacco, jute
and tea are also cultivated in large
quantities,
Manufacturing : Manufacturing is
still at the developmental stage and
it represents less than 10% of the
GDP. Major industries are woolen
carpets, garments, textiles, leather
products, paper and cement. Other
products made in Nepal are steel
utensils, cigarettes, beverages and
sugar. There are many modern
large-scale factories but the
majority are cottage or small scale
operations. Most of Nepal's
industries are based in the
Kathmandu Valley and a string of
Small towns in the southern Terai
Plains.
Trade : Commerce has been a major
occupation in Nepal since early
times. Being situated at the
crossroads of the ancient
Trans-Himalayan trade route, trading
is second nature to the Nepalese
people. Foreign trade is
characterized mainly by import of
manufactured products and export of
agricultural raw materials. Nepal
imports manufactured goods and
petroleum products worth about US$ 1
billion annually. The value of
exports is about US$ 315 million.
Woolen carpets are Nepal's largest
export, earning the country over US$
135 million per year. Garment
exports account for more than US$ 74
million and handicraft goods bring
in about US$ 1 million. Other
important exports are pulses, hides
and skins, jute and medicinal herbs.
Tourism : In 1998, a total of
463,684 tourists visited Nepal,
making tourism one of the largest
industries in the Kingdom. This
sector has been expanding rapidly
since its inception in the 1950.
Thanks to Nepal's natural beauty,
rich cultural heritage and the
diversity of sight-seeing and
adventure opportunities available.
At one time, tourism used to be the
biggest foreign currency earner for
the country. Nepal earned over US$
152 million from tourism in 1998.
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