Though Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) - the state-owned food supplier - had fixed the price of goat in range of Rs 258 to Rs 268 per kg, animal traders at Exhibition Road sold mountain goats for as high as Rs 425 per kg. NFC had acquired less than 3,000 goats for this Dashain, and it was not sufficient to intervene in the market.[break]
“I hadn´t expected that the price of goats could go this high,” said Bhim Bahadur Karki, who had reached Exhibition Road on the day to purchase goats for the festival. “Taking advantage of the government´s laxity, animal traders are fleecing consumers.”
Goats are being sold through different distribution centers in the capital, but there is no uniformity in prices. While traders at Sallaghari, Bhaktapur sold mountain goats at Rs 300 per kg on Monday, it was traded at as high as Rs 425 per kg at Exhibition Road.
“We can´t sell at cheaper price because we get good price for mountain goats only once a year during Dashain. Also, we have to undergo different hardships while bringing the animals from Mustang and Tibet,” said Ningma Sherpa, an animal trader at Exhibition Road.
Deepak Thapa, president of Nepal Livestock Traders Association (NLTA), however, said it was natural for the prices to go up as the demand for animals hits peak during the festival. “Price of goats and mountain goats has increased by 8 percent and 18 percent respectively this year,” Thapa added.
According to the association, the demand for animals during this year´s Dashain has increased by around 30 percent.
Thapa said goats were traded in range of Rs 300 to Rs 320 per kg, while the price of mountain goats hovered between Rs 300 to Rs 325 per kg.
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