´
Sharp falls in the value of the Nepali currency against the Chinese Yuan made the mountain goats dearer in the Tibetan market for Nepali traders.
Pokhara, which used to be dotted with makeshifts huts to accommodate the mountain goats for Dashain, remained calm this year.[break]
With the low number of mountain goats arriving in Pokhara, their prices significantly increased in the local markets.
However, local traders benefited from the drop in supplies by selling mountain goats at highly lucrative prices.
“Last year I suffered huge losses while trading in mountain goats. However this year with the rise in prices I didn´t have to face the fate of last year,” said Age Gurung, a local mountain goat trader.
Sharp rise in price of mountain goats in Tibet also jacked up their prices in the Nepali market significantly.
“The fall in the value of Nepali rupees against the Chinese currency made mountain goats very expensive for this year´s Dashain,” said Gurung.
Over the year, the Nepali currency dropped from Rs 13 per Yuan to Rs 17. Mountain goat cost at least Rs 15,000-Rs 16,000 in Tibet which is Rs 5,000- Rs7, 000 higher than last year´s prices.
“I cut the number of goats imported to 200 heads this year, from around 500 heads last year,” said Gurung. He estimated that the arrival of mountain goats dropped too.
The scene from the Lake City reflects the slowdown in sales of even highly consumable goods in Dashain this year.
Traders in the capital also reported that sales of commodity goods that are usually in high demand in the festive season witnessed slackness in their sales this Dashain.
Sale of alcohol, goats, food commodities and even gold were reported to have declined in comparison to what was estimated to have been sold during the festival last year.
Alcohol, which used to be in very high demand during the festivals, recorded more than a 15 percent decrease in sales during the 15-day Dashain sales season, which is ending this week.
The drop in liquor sales is largely attributed to the stringent action of the government to discourage drunk-driving.
“Dashain is supposed to drive up demand for liquor. But, we didn’t see this happen this Dashain as the anti-drink-and-drive strategy introduced by the government even during the day-time discouraged consumption,” said Nabin Lal Shrestha, the president of the Federation of Liquor Association of Nepal (FLAN).
Bullion traders, who were also expecting brisk business during Dashain, were also downbeat after a slump in sales.
Traders said sales of gold ornaments dropped by 50 percent this Dashain.
The daily demand for gold during this Dashain was limited to around 15 kg a day they said, well down from around 35 kg recorded of the previous Dashain.
“The rapid fluctuation in the price of gold this year has put the customers in a ´wait and see´ mode. So, customers seemed to have preferred to refrain from buying new ornaments during Dashain,” Tej Ratna Shakya, the immediate-past president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association, said.
The price of the yellow metal reached an all-time high of Rs 63,300 per tola (11.664 grams) on August 28 while it was traded at Rs 55,600 per tola on October 10.
Shakya hinted that sales could even go down even during the upcoming Tihar festival -- the second largest festival for Nepali Hindus, if prices continued to fluctuate in international bullion market.
Similarly, livestock traders also suffered similar setback during the Dashain, thanks to abrupt changes in the weathers leading and heavy rainfall on later days of the festival.
“We had planned to increase supply to capital. However, we couldn´t supply properly to our customers,” Deepak Thapa, the president of Nepal Livestock Traders Association said. According to Thapa, only 57,000 heads of sheep and goats were supplied to the capital. The association had targeted 60,000 heads.
Thapa also said that traders were able to sell only 55,000 of those goats and sheep.
Sales of food commodities stayed down during Dashain. Traders attributed the not—so-impressive sales to the changing style of celebrating festivals.
“The trend of celebrating festivals has changed. Nowadays, people prefer buying new gadgets, vehicles and home appliances instead of spending much on food,” Pabitra Bajracharya said.
Related story
Sugar prices expected to drop during Tihar
