Money
Vegetable prices cooling down as supplies pick up
Prices of vegetables in the Kathmandu Valley have started to drop as supplies of freshly harvested vegetables arrive in the market. However, prices of some vegetable items have remained on the higher side, triggered by the Tihar festival.Krishana Prasain
Prices of vegetables in the Kathmandu Valley have started to drop as supplies of freshly harvested vegetables arrive in the market. However, prices of some vegetable items have remained on the higher side, triggered by the Tihar festival.
Normally, vegetable prices fall after the end of monsoon. The monsoon ended in Nepal in the third week of September.
According to the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board—the country’s largest wholesale market, prices of seasonal vegetables like black eye bean, bitter gourd and bottle gourd have decreased due to sufficient supplies.
Black eye bean that used to cost Rs68 per kg dropped 14.71 percent to Rs48 per kg last week.
Similarly, bitter gourd price has dropped sharply by 29.41 percent to Rs68 per kg.
Bottle gourd price has also decreased 13.16 percent and now costs Rs33 per kg.
The wholesale price of red potato, however, has increased 7.84 percent to Rs51 per kg amid a surge in demand during the festive season.
Similarly, the wholesale price of white potato saw a bump of Rs 1 and now costs Rs43 per kg.
With festivities coming to an end in the Valley along with new harvest arriving in the market, the price of red potato has dropped sharply in November, said Binaya Shrestha, deputy director at the board. The wholesale price of red potato had reached up to Rs75 per kg in October.
Shrestha said that the prices of potatoes are expected to fall as local production from major sources like Mude, Palung and Panauti are expected to arrive in the market soon. “The Tihar festival was one of the key reasons behind the increase in potato prices despite abundant supply in the market,” said Shrestha.
Prices of vegetable like big tomato, local cauliflower and brinjal have remained unchanged.
However, prices of off-seasonal vegetables have increased at a double-digit rate last week due to increased demand and low supply.
Vegetables like carrot and cabbage have become dearer. The wholesale price of carrot increased 9.52 percent and now costs Rs115 per kg
while cabbage price is up
7.27 percent.
The Kalimati Market, which is the major supplier
of vegetables in the Kathmandu Valley, has been receiving 700-750 tonnes of vegetables daily from districts like Dhading, Makwanpur, Siraha, Chitwan, Sarlahi and Bhaktapur.