Patna, Sep 3: Devastating floods and flash floods in Nepal are beginning to cast a shadow over Bihar’s economy, threatening cross-border trade, supply chains, agricultural exports, transport and tourism as damage to roads and bridges disrupts movement within the neighbouring country.
The two major trade corridors connecting Bihar with Nepal — Raxaul-Birgunj and Jogbani-Biratnagar — handled goods worth around ₹50,258.03 crore in 2025-26, underscoring the scale of the economic activity potentially exposed to prolonged disruption.
Raxaul remains the most important gateway, with its land port recording trade worth ₹38,425.95 crore during 2025-26. Based on monthly and daily averages, the trade through Raxaul is estimated at around ₹3,202 crore a month, or nearly ₹105 crore a day.
The corridor also witnessed the movement of around 2.19 lakh cargo vehicles during the year, linking the trade route to the livelihoods of thousands of truck drivers, transport workers, loading and unloading labourers, warehouse operators and small businesses along the border.
The second major route, Jogbani-Biratnagar, recorded trade worth ₹11,833.08 crore in 2025-26, with approximately 1.09 lakh cargo vehicles passing through the land port.
The disruption in Nepal could affect the movement of essential commodities, including petroleum products, iron and steel, motor vehicles and parts, machinery, medicines, rice and other food grains. Imports from Nepal include jute, beverages, refined palmolein, lead and Ayurvedic products.
Flood-related damage to roads and bridges inside Nepal has raised concerns over delays in taking consignments from Indian border points to their final destinations. Any prolonged interruption could reduce freight movement and put pressure on supply chains on both sides of the border.
The impact is also being felt in the tourism sector. Connectivity problems in Nepal could reduce the flow of visitors to destinations such as Kathmandu and Pokhara, affecting tour operators, travel agencies, taxi operators, hotels and restaurants in Bihar’s border areas.
Patna-based tour and travel businessman Sanjeev Kumar said the sector had already started feeling the impact.
“Due to the flood in Nepal, the tourism business is experiencing a decline of about 15 to 20 percent and tourists are currently avoiding traveling to Nepal,” Kumar said.
Business representatives have also expressed concern over the possible impact on Bihar’s farmers, for whom Nepal is a major market.
Kamal Nopani, industrialist and national vice president of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said the natural disaster had disrupted commercial activity and could make it difficult for Bihar’s agricultural produce to reach Nepal regularly.
“The natural disaster in Nepal has affected commerce. Farmers in Bihar, in particular, are worried that their products won’t be able to reach Nepal frequently,” Nopani said.
“They won’t be able to get a fair price,” he added.
Nopani also warned that the disruption could persist if Nepal’s internal transport network takes considerable time to recover. “If they can’t sell, where will they buy? This situation is expected to persist for a long time,” he said.
Business estimates suggest that movement of some products to Nepal could decline by up to 50 per cent if the disruption continues.
The importance of Nepal as a market for Bihar is underlined by data from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), according to which Nepal accounted for around 83.46 per cent of Bihar’s total exports in 2023-24, making it the state’s largest export destination.
Major Bihar exports to Nepal include high-speed diesel, petrol, aviation turbine fuel, rice and other grains, frozen boneless meat, medicines, iron and steel, machinery and other industrial products.
Economist Dr Vidyarthi Vikas said prolonged disruption to Nepal’s road and tourism infrastructure could have a direct impact on Bihar’s tourism-linked businesses.
“A large number of tourists from India visit Nepal every year, and those from Bihar are a significant part of this population,” he said.
“If Nepal’s road and tourism infrastructure takes a long time to return to normal, the number of tourists from Bihar to Nepal could decline significantly,” Vikas said, adding that this would directly affect tour operators, travel agencies, hotels and transportation services.
The impact of the disaster, however, extends beyond commerce. Rising water levels in rivers originating in Nepal could increase the risk of flooding in Bihar’s border districts. Heavy rainfall and sudden increases in water levels in upstream catchment areas can affect Bihar through river systems such as the Gandak.
Thus, Bihar faces a twin challenge — protecting its cross-border trade and supply chains while simultaneously preparing for the possibility of flooding triggered by rising river levels.
The border economy is likely to feel the impact first if truck movement declines. Transport companies, drivers, loading and unloading workers, customs clearing agents, warehouse operators, petrol pumps, hotels, restaurants and small traders are among those vulnerable to a slowdown.
With annual trade through Bihar’s two principal Nepal gateways exceeding ₹50,000 crore, the scale of the potential economic impact will depend largely on how quickly Nepal restores damaged roads, bridges and supply networks and how soon freight movement returns to normal.
