Kathmandu, Nov. 12: As the festival of Tihar begins, the consumers are busy purchasing dry fruits.The markets in New Road, Makhan, Indra Chowk and Ason are filled with crowds of consumers buying dry fruits as many people think that dry fruits in these markets are cheaper compared to other markets.
Dry fruits popularly called ‘Bhai Masala’, which is presented to brothers by the sisters on the day Bhai Tika is the most sold item during Tihar.Various shops, including jewellery, garments and silver utensils have been crowded since Thursday.
Amul Kaji Tuladhar, secretary at the Retail Trade Association, said that business had been blooming from Thursday as the flow of consumers had increased in Ason, Indrachowk and other major marketplaces.
“Demand for dry fruits has not increased as per our expectation like that of previous years. However, this year’s sales of dry fruits are better than COVID time,” he said.The sale of dry fruits has remained low even though the flow of people has been growing in Ason, he said.
The transaction of dry fruits has decreased by around 10-15 per cent this year compared to last year, he said.The reduction in the purchasing power of people has affected the sales of every item, including dry fruits even during the Tihar festival, said Tuladhar.
The most used spices in the festival are cashews, almonds, pistachios, raisins, coconuts, dates, betel nut and walnuts.The demand for dry fruits is around 30-35 per cent only in Tihar of the total annual consumption, he said. However, due to low income, people are buying dry fruits just to meet the necessities, he said.
The price of almost all dry fruits has remained almost the same this year, he said, adding that the prices of date and pistachios have slightly increased this year compared to the last year.The price of pistachios has increased to Rs. 2,200 per kg from Rs. 1,800.This price of pistachios had already increased after Tihar last year, he said.
However, he said that the price of dates has increased as there is a dearth of dates in the market.“There is a shortage of dates in the market now. The government had banned the import of dates and the ban has been lifted recently.
The dates were sold at Rs. 400 per kg during last year’s festival. However, this year, the price of it has increased to Rs. 550, he said.The retail price of cashew nuts at present is Rs. 1,550 to 1,600 per kilogram and almond is available at Rs.1,250 per kg and walnut at Rs. 500 per kg.
Similarly, coconut costs Rs. 550-600 per kg, green cardamom Rs. 3,500 per kg, large cardamom Rs. 1,000 and raisins Rs. 550 per kg. Nepal has imported dry nuts worth Rs. 1.14 billion in three months of the current fiscal year 2023/24.
According to the statistics of the Department of Customs, Nepal has imported 8,088 tonnes of dry fruits worth Rs. 1.14 billion during the three months of the current fiscal year.The country had imported 9,560 tonnes of dry fruits worth Rs. 1.52 billion during the first three months of last fiscal year 2022/23.
During the review period, 202 tonnes of cashew nut worth Rs. 140 million, 250 tonnes of almonds worth Rs. 190 million, 1096 tonnes worth Rs. 376 million and ]5641 tonnes of coconut worth Rs. 317 million have been imported.Around 1,096 tonnes of walnuts worth Rs. 376 million have been imported during the first three months of the current fiscal year.Most of the dry fruits in Nepal are imported from India, America Australia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Qatar, Thailand, America and other countries.
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