2 Asar, Kathmandu – Tea and coffee production in Koshi Province has shown growth in the current fiscal year. According to a study by the Nepal Rastra Bank, tea production in Koshi increased by 0.9 percent, while coffee production surged by 17.6 percent. However, the bank’s half-yearly report for the current fiscal year highlights a 4.4 percent decline in overall agricultural crop production in Koshi Province. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, production had increased by 7 percent.
Among food grains, cash crops, and other crops, paddy production decreased by 4 percent, whereas maize rose by 0.3 percent, wheat by 2.5 percent, millet by 0.3 percent, barley by 13.7 percent, buckwheat by 2.51 percent, and potatoes by 2 percent. Vegetable production declined by 6.4 percent, fruit production by 2.6 percent, and spice production dropped by 11.8 percent. The province’s irrigated cultivable land stood at 39.8 percent, down from 40.8 percent in the previous fiscal year.
Up to Poush of the current fiscal year, milk production in Koshi increased by 1.9 percent, and fish production by 16.5 percent, while meat production declined by 5.1 percent, egg production by 18.5 percent, and wool production by 0.4 percent. The preliminary estimate for the current fiscal year’s economic growth rate is 3.13 percent, compared to 2.72 percent in the previous fiscal year. For 2082/83, the contribution of agriculture, industry, and service sectors to Koshi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to be 32.47 percent, 17.67 percent, and 49.85 percent, respectively.
