KATHMANDU, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Nepal witnessed a sharp drop in the import of petrol and diesel during the first five months of the current 2024-25 fiscal year.

The South Asian country imported petroleum products worth 68.62 billion Nepali rupees (503 million U.S. dollars) by mid-December, marking a drop of nearly 17 percent over the same period of 2023-24, showed the figures released by the Department of Customs on Sunday.

The overall imports by the country increased by just 3 percent during the period amid a sluggish economy, as banks and the private sector have been complaining about poor demands for loans and manufactured goods, respectively.

"For the last two and half years, Nepal's economy has been running sluggishly, and the impact has been reflected in reduced import of petroleum products," said Keshav Acharya, a senior economist.

He told Xinhua that the increasing production and consumption of hydropower, coupled with the growing penetration of electric vehicles, had also contributed to reduced import of petroleum products.

Nepal became a net exporter of electricity in 2023-24 for the first time and has seen a rapid rise in the import of electric vehicles in recent years.

In fact, the country's import of petroleum products declined by 18.87 percent year-on-year to 300.54 billion Nepali rupees (2.2 billion dollars) in fiscal 2023-24. ■