Kathmandu, August 22

Owing to the possible short-supply of goats due to low domestic production followed by supply disruptions due to landslides and the recent floods in Tarai, traders have said that Kathmandu Valley is likely to witness a surge in the price of goat meat this Dashain — which is less than a month away.

Stating that a number of goats have been killed in the recent floods in the Tarai, which has dragged down the domestic production and that the price of goats have gone up in the Indian market as well, traders have said that live goats will be dearer by as much as Rs 45 per kilogram compared to its price last Dashain.

Traders had sold live goats at an average price of Rs 470 per kilogram in Dashain last year in the Valley’s market.

“Domestic production of goats is declining every year in Nepal and more than 80 per cent of the demand of goats is fulfilled through supply from India during Dashain festival. However, the domestic production this year will have much lower contribution to the supply of goats in Dashain as thousands of goats have been swept away by the floods in Tarai,” said Deepak Thapa, president of Nepal Livestock Traders Association.

As per the preliminary government study, the monsoon calamity this year has killed almost 3,000 goats in the Tarai.

As per Thapa, apart from the significant fall in domestic production, traders have also been facing difficulty in importing goats into the Valley due to landslides and floods across the country.

“While the domestic production is already low, traders are also facing transportation difficulties, and the price of goats has increased in the Indian market too. All these factors point to the fact that live goats and meat will be dearer this Dashain,” he added.

Traders have said that more than 90 per cent of the Valley’s demand for goat this year depends on Indian imports. Last Dashain, traders had sold almost 50,000 live goats in Kathmandu Valley, of which around 40,000 were imported from India.

However, Shankar Sapkota, information officer at Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) said that though the price of goat might go up this Dashain, it shouldn’t surge as high as claimed by the traders. According to him, NFC plans to sell around 2,500 goats in the Valley this year during Dashain at a subsidised rate, which he expected will help in controlling the goat price from shooting through the roof. However, NFC has not yet decided the rate at which it plans to sell goats this Dashain.