KATHMANDU: According to a Nepal Rastra Bank report, the retail market price has cooled down but the wholesale prices — especially of agriculture products — have started to go up.

“Majority of the retailers buy their products from our organisation, and our wholesale prices have not seen much of a fluctuation,” said Binay Shrestha, Planning Officer for Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market (KFVM) — from where most of the vegetable and fruit retailers in the valley procure their produce.

According to Shrestha, the rise in wholesale prices and decrease in retail prices are solely in either seasonal vegetables or a few other perishable items such as tomatoes. “Products that may perish as the day progresses are the only ones that face this kind of price rise in the wholesale market,” he added.

Nepal Rastra Bank’s data

for the second month of this

fiscal year reveal that inflation has moderated to 9.7 per cent from the last year same month’s 13.5 per cent.

However, wholesale price have risen to 12.6 per cent against 10.3 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

Agricultural commodities — that increased by almost thirty times to 29.7 per cent — contributed to the increase in wholesale price. The increase was 0.7 per cent a year ago. Within the agricultural commodities group, cash crops’ price increased over five hundred fold by 84.3 per cent against a decline of 23.2 per cent a year ago.

The price hike in vegetables and fruits has been a concern for sellers as well as consumers for months at a stretch when basic vegetables like cabbage were being sold for Rs 60 a kg.