Prices of popular dry fruits like cashew nuts, almonds, pistachio nuts, walnuts, raisins, dates, coconuts, betel nuts and cloves have come down in range of Rs 10 to Rs 310 per kg. [break]
On Wednesday, cashew nuts, almonds and pistachio nuts were priced at Rs 780, Rs 700 and Rs 940 per kg, respectively, down from last month´s Rs 980, Rs 950 and Rs 1,250 per kg. Similarly, price of raisins has dropped to Rs 230 per kg from last month´s Rs 280 per kg, while walnuts which was priced at Rs 450 per kg last month is now available at Rs 300 per kg. Price of coconut has come down by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 160 per kg.
Prices of betel nuts have dropped from last month´s Rs 180 per kg to Rs 170 per kg, dates from Rs 130 per kg to Rs 105 per kg and cloves from Rs 1,700 per kg to Rs 1,150 per kg.
Damodar Jaju, proprietor of Damodar Stores, Koteshwar, said dry fruits have become cheaper because of lower demand. “Demand has dropped by around 70 percent after the wedding season ended in mid-December,” Jaju added. “I expect the price to be stable even though demand will increase slightly after the beginning of another wedding season in mid-January.”
Demand for dry fruits generally increases during major festivals like Dashain and Tihar and wedding season.
Prayag Tuladhar of Bhawani Stores, Makhan said demand for dry fruits is low at the moment. “Compared to Dashain and Tihar, prices have come down by 30-35 percent,” said Tuladhar.
Traders source dry fruits from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Iran and US. Betel nuts, however, come from India.
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