Kathmandu: Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC), the state-owned entity, is planning to sell about 1,800 goats and mountain goats (Chyangra) in the Kathmandu Valley during the Dashain festival this year.
According to the spokesperson for the FMTC, Sarmila Neupane Subedi, the Company is planning to purchase 1,500 goats and 300 mountain goats to sell in the Kathmandu Valley through its Thapathali-based office in the Dashain festival.
The FMTC has been selling goats in Kathmandu during the Dashain festival every year. The FMTC starts selling the animals after Ghatasthapana, the first day of the fortnight-long Dashain festival.
“We are preparing to purchase goats from various districts like Makwanpur and Dang. Similarly, we are planning to bring Chyangras from Mustang,” she said. The FMTC has allocated a budget of around Rs. 40 million to supply the animals, according to the Company.
To prevent the traders from charging high prices to the consumers during the festival, the state-owned enterprise has been buying goats and Chyangras from the outer districts to the capital for years.The Company sold 1,659 goats last year. The FMTC brought about 542 Chyangras from Rasuwa last year.
After the FMTC failed to sell some of the Chyangras brought from Rasuwa last year, it sold them by deducting the price by Rs.100 per kg. Subedi said that the FMTC would start purchasing goats from the farmers through its branch offices two weeks before the Dashain festival.
The Company will form a committee under the coordination of the Chief District Officer to buy the goats from the concerned districts, she said. “The FMTC board will fix the price of goats based on purchasing price and transportation costs, including only a nominal profit,” she said.
She, however, claimed that the selling price of goats at the FMTC depot will be cheaper compared to the traders’ price because the objective of FMTC is to control the market price of meat during the festival.
“The selling quantity of the Company will be very nominal compared to the demand of goats in the valley. Our objective is to control the artificial price hike by traders during the festival as the demand for meat will be higher in festivals,” she said.
About 60,000 goats and Chyangras are needed in the Kathmandu Valley during the Dashain festival.Last year, the FMTC sold live goats at Rs. 670 per kilogram and mountain goats at Rs. 1,250 per kg with a Rs. 10 discount per kg.
She said that the FMTC would also provide a discount on goats even this year as per the direction of the government. Last year, the FMTC was not able to sell the mountain goats brought from Rasuwa after rumours spread that they were selling goats in the name of mountain goats.
The FMTC reduced the price by Rs. 100 per kg and was sold to a single company. “We have planned to bring only 300 Chyangras from Mustang in coordination with the local levels and the CDO. In the last two years, the FMCT could not bring Chyangras from Mustang because they were expensive, But this year, even though they are expensive, we will bring Chyangras from Mustang,” she told The Rising Nepal.
Even in the previous year’s Dasahin, the FMTC had sold only about 200 mountain goats out of 400 brought from Darchula even after negative rumours were spread about the Chyangras. The rest of the mountain goats purchased by the FMTC had been returned to the Agricultural Cooperative of Darchula.
The FMTC will pay due attention to selling healthy goats, she said, adding that that it would purchase goats from farmers after a health check by the doctors.Stating that it is the responsibility of the FMTC to sell qualitative and healthy goats to the consumers at a cheaper rate, she assured that the FMTC’s goats would be healthier and fresh.
Along with the sale of goats, the FMTC will also operate fair prices shops in more than 60 places inside and outside the Kathmandu Valley targeting to provide essential goods to the consumers at a discounted rate, she said.
The company is going to operate fair-price shops from the first week of the Nepali month of Ashoj. However, Subedi said that they had not decided as to how much discount they would give on food items, goat and Chyangra. She said that the FMTC would run the fair price shops at local levels if the municipal offices request for the same.
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