Prices of essential goods have jumped in the Kathmandu Valley on a strong US dollar. Groceries like edible oil, flour, vegetable, sugar and bread have become dearer by up to 25 percent, traders said.

Sugar costs Rs85-90 per kg compared to Rs65 a few weeks ago. Flour costs Rs45 per kg, up from Rs38. Likewise, the price of mustard oil has gone up to Rs125 per litre from Rs110. The price of potato has almost doubled to Rs85 per kg while most other vegetables cost a minimum of Rs100 per kg.

Geeta Poudel, a retailer at the Naxal vegetable market, said the price of potato surged by almost Rs30 per kg in the past week. According to her, suppliers have raised vegetable prices citing a drop in domestic production. “The suppliers said the potato harvest in Mude, Dolakha and Palung, Makwanpur was poor this year. The market is now flooded with farm products imported from Bhutan,” Poudel said.

The price of flour has increased by almost 19 percent in the past few days. “Pointing to the soaring exchange rate of the US dollar, importers have increased the price of flour,” said Pawan Jajodiya, proprietor of Jajodiya Khadya Store at Gyaneshwor. According to him, the price of wheat increased by Rs3-5 per kg recently.

The Nepali currency has depreciated sharply against the greenback. The exchange rate now hovers at Rs117. Apart from the soaring exchange rate, the rise in grocery prices has been blamed on the festival shopping rush. Prem Lal Maharjan, president of the National Consumers’ Forum, said weak market monitoring had led to the situation making consumers suffer. According to him, bakeries have raised the price of bread by up to 25 percent citing the soaring price of flour.

Market prices rose sharply even as the government reiterated its commitment to check inflation. Speaking at a programme on Sunday, Director General Yogendra Gauchan of the Department of Supply Management and Protection of Consumers Interest said the department had started special market monitoring targeting the festival season.

He added that the department was aware of the hike in market prices and had started rigorous monitoring of food stores. He criticised private sugar producers for increasing the price of the household sweetener.

According to him, sugar mills had promised to sell the product at Rs54 per kg before the government imposed import restrictions. “Now, they are going back on their word and saying that the factory price cannot be less than Rs63 per kg,” Gauchan said.

Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Ram Prasad Acharya said they were concentrating on maintaining security and carrying out effective market monitoring for the benefit of Dashain celebrators. He stressed the need to create public awareness, but did not say if the government had any concrete plan to control market prices.