The price of sugar has gone down by Rs 15 per kg and traders said this is thanks to sufficient output and uninterrupted supply in the market. According to traders, price of other food items has however been fairly stable in the market. [break]
Starting from Saturday, retailers made consumers pay Rs 140 for a liter of locally-produced mustard oil, up Rs 10 per liter recorded a week ago. “The manufacturers have increased the price by Rs 10 per liter,” said Susheel Shrestha, proprietor of Kavre Store at Koteshwor.
With the increase in price, different brands of mustard oils are available from Rs 130 to Rs 145 per liter. Likewise, price of locally-manufactured soybean oil has jumped to Rs 130 per liter from Rs 120 per liter. Sunflower oil that was priced Rs 125 per liter till a week ago is currently available for Rs 130 per liter in the market.
Wholesalers and retailers attributed the fresh rise in the prices to upward revision of customs valuations of raw materials required for producing oils and also the weakening of Nepali rupee vis-a-vis US dollar.
“As Nepal largely fulfills the local demand of edible oil through imports of either raw materials - mustard, sunflower and soybean seeds - or processed oil products, the latest devaluation of Nepali rupee has impacted the price,” informed Siddhi Gorkhali, office secretary of Nepal Retailer´s Association.
After the decline in price of sugar by Rs 15 per kg, retailers in different parts of Kathmandu were found selling sugar in a range of Rs 65 to Rs 70 per kg on Saturday. Sugar was priced between Rs 80 and Rs 85 per kg until a few days back.
“Price of sugar has gone down as there is no problem regarding production due to which there is enough supply in the market,” said Sashi Kant Agrawal, president of Nepal Sugar Mills Association. According to him, private manufacturers and traders are currently supplying sufficient volume of sugar in the market.
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