KATHMANDU, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Driven by the COVID-19 epidemic, Nepal's import of medical equipment from China more than doubled during the first three quarters of the current 2020-21 fiscal year ending mid-July on a year-on-year basis, showed data released by the country's central bank.
According to figures released by the Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal's purchase of medical equipment from China surged by 117 percent to 3.12 billion Nepali rupees (26 million U.S. dollars) against 1.43 billion Nepali rupees (12 million U.S. dollars) during the same period in the previous 2019-20 fiscal year.
The COVID-19 hit Nepal in the middle of 2019-20 fiscal year and the country more than doubled its imports of medical equipment from China in the year compared with the previous 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the Nepali central bank.
In the 2019-20 fiscal year, Nepal imported medical equipment worth 3.35 billion Nepali rupees (28 million U.S. dollars).
Nepali government officials and medical equipment suppliers said the COVID-19 was the driving force behind the surging imports of medical equipment and tools from China.
"We have seen the surge in the import of equipment and tools aimed at controlling the pandemic," Sishir Ghimire, information officer at Nepal's Department of Customs.
According to the customs department, large numbers of face shields, gowns and gloves for medical and surgical purposes, diagnostic kits, needles for medical purposes, among others, were brought to Nepal from China in the first nine months of this fiscal year.
Medical equipment suppliers said they have been bringing most of medical equipment from China lately although they have also approached India and other countries.
"The equipment related to COVID-19 has basically contributed to a surge in imports of medical equipment," Suresh Ghimire, president of the Chemical and Medical Suppliers' Association Nepal, told Xinhua on Thursday. "Several hospitals have imported equipment for establishing high dependency unit, for critical patients amid the COVID-19 pandemic."
As Nepal has been ravaged by a deadly second wave of the COVID-19 over the past weeks, there is an increasing demand for oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders and pulse oximeters in particular.
Ghimire said the suppliers have been doing their best to bring these items particularly from China.
On Thursday, Nepal reported 8,842 new COVID-19 cases and 214 new deaths from the pandemic. For now the Himalayan nation has a total of 431,191 coronavirus infections and a death toll of 4,466. Enditem
