Kathmandu Valley residents devoured an estimated Rs1.32 billion worth of goat, mountain goat and chicken meat during a week of Dashain feasting, said traders.

Sales of goat and mountain goat meat totalled Rs800 million, including Rs39.2 million in sales racked up by state-owned Nepal Food Corporation, the Nepal Livestock Traders Association said.

Likewise, Kathmanduites bought chicken meat valued at Rs513 million. The association said that more than 55,000 goats and mountain goats were slaughtered during the festival.

Last year, goat sales in the valley amounted to around 40,000 animals as supplies were disrupted by an Indian embargo, and a country shell-shocked by a killer quake toned down celebrations.

Deepak Thapa, former president of the association, said goat prices ranged from Rs10,000 to Rs32,000 per head this year.

According to him, live goats were sold at up to Rs510 per kg this year, while live mountain goats fetched Rs700 per kg. Before Dashain, live goats cost Rs460 to Rs465 per kg in the market. “Due to increased supply against demand, prices remained fairly stable this time,” he said.

Likewise, Nepal Food Corporation said it sold 1,538 goats and 1,462 mountain goats during the festival period. Pawan Karki, spokesperson for the corporation, said they had procured more mountain goats this year due to a rise in demand. The corporation charged Rs450 per kg for live goats and Rs650 per kg for mountain goats.

Meanwhile, chicken sellers said they sold 300 tonnes of chicken daily in the valley. According to the National Poultry Sellers’ Association, demand for chicken has been soaring 20-25 percent annually, particularly during the Dashain festival.

“As a large number of people, including youth, have been switching to chicken from red meat of buffalo and goat, demand for chicken has gone up significantly,” said Jung Bahadur BC, president of the association.

He added that many people in the valley who used to consume buffalo meat had switched to chicken. The association had fixed the price of chicken at Rs285 per kg during the festival.

According to the Department of Customs, the country’s live animal import bill came to Rs3.05 billion in the last fiscal year. Of the total imports, 479,134 live goats worth Rs2.64 billion were imported from India alone.

The country’s meat

production grew a marginal 0.89 percent to 301,000 tonnes in the last fiscal year, the Ministry of Agricultural Development said.