Traders, NFC start selling goats for Dashain festival

  • Price ranges between Rs 440 and 470 per kg

Kathmandu, October 3

Both private traders and Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) have started selling goats for Dashain. While private traders have begun to sell live goats to customers from today, the state-owned entity NFC had started from Sunday.

As per the price trend practised by NFC and private traders, customers can purchase live goats at Rs 440 per kg to Rs 470 per kg, depending on the weight and other factors.

In a bid to stabilise the market price, NFC is selling live goats at comparatively cheaper rate as compared to the rate set by the private traders.

According to Shiva Hari Shrestha, general manager of NFC, the corporation is selling goats weighing less than 25 kg at Rs 440 per kg and goats weighing above 25 kg at Rs 450 per kg.

“We are selling just 3,000 live goats and sheep this Dashain. This is just to intervene in the market and control possible arbitrary rise in price of goats during the festival,” Shrestha said, adding that NFC has already sold 700 goats in the span of two days — yesterday and today.

On the other hand, private traders who plan to bring more than 45,000 goats for Dashain in the Kathmandu Valley are charging customers up to Rs 470 per kg for live goats. The price set for local goats ranges between Rs 440 per kg and Rs 450 per kg, while the rate for Indian goats ranges between Rs 450 per kg to Rs 470 per kg because of ‘increase in price of goats in the Indian market’.

“Domestic production of goats is much lower and majority of the festive demand is met through Indian goats,” Deepak Thapa, former president of Nepal Livestock Traders Association (NLTA), said adding that Indian goats have become slightly dearer compared to previous Dashain.

According to him, Indian goats were sold between Rs 450 per kg and Rs 460 per kg in last Dashain.

In case of mountain goats, NFC is selling them at Rs 650 per kg. However, private traders are selling mountain goats starting from Rs 680 per kg and up to Rs 700 per kg. Similarly, traders are selling live sheep at Rs 500 per kg.