Kathmandu, September 20

Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has fixed the price of goats that it plans to sell during Dashain this year at Rs 465 per kilogram.

The corporation’s meeting held today finalised the rate incorporating cost price of goats and transportation charge, according to Shankar Sapkota, spokesperson for NFC.

However, customers can purchase goats from NFC at Rs 455 per kilogram, as the government is subsidising Rs 10 per kilogram on goats that it is selling.

“The goat price has become slightly dearer this year compared to last year as its cost price in the domestic market has gone up,” Sapkota said.

NFC had sold goats at subsidised rate of Rs 450 per kilogram last year.

Similarly, Sapkota also informed that price of mountain goats has been fixed at Rs 685 per kilogram and that of he-goats has been fixed at Rs 460 per kilogram. Customers buying he-goats and mountain goats from NFC will also be able to get Rs 10 per kilogram discount on the fixed rates.

“Mountain goats have already started arriving at NFC while goats and he-goats will start arriving from Thursday,” Sapkota informed.

NFC is purchasing goats for Dashain basically from districts like Dang, Makawanpur and Siraha and will start selling them from Fulpati (September 27) at NFC’s office in Thapathali. This Dashain, NFC plans to sell almost 2,500 goats, mountain goats and he-goats.

Every year during Dashain, NFC sells certain number of goats at subsidised rate to facilitate festive consumers and control overpricing of goats, especially from private goat traders.

However, livestock traders have been claiming that goats will not be available at less than Rs 500 per kilogram during Dashain citing that the domestic market is likely to face shortage of goats this year.

“A number of goats were killed in the floods and landslides and this will result in short-supply of goats from domestic sources. Similarly, transportation cost for traders has gone up this year as compared to last year,” reasoned Deepak Thapa, president of Nepal Livestock Traders Association.

Livestock traders had sold goats at Rs 470 per kilogram during Dashain last year.