The government-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) has decided not to sell mountain goats (chyangra) as per its earlier target in the upcoming Dashain festival.
Meeting the target of FMTC to sell mountain goats in Kathmandu in the festival has been impossible this year too as it has been unable to purchase mountain goats from Mustang, said Srimani Raj Khanal, divisional chief of the FMTC.
The company did not sell the mountain goats last year after it failed to purchase the animals owing to their high prices.
“Possibility of supplying the mountain goats in Kathmandu during the upcoming festival by bringing them from Mustang has almost ended because it could not purchase them,” Khanal told The Rising Nepal.
Earlier, the FMTC had set a target to supply around 1,500 mountain goats in the Kathmandu Valley in Dashain.
“We are unable to purchase mountain goats this year due to short supply in Mustang,” said Binod Chand, Chief of FMTC Mustang branch.
The short supply of chyangra in the district is the main reason behind the price hike as the farmers and the suppliers are encouraged to sell goats at higher rates than the price fixed by the FMTC.
He said that number of mountain goats available in the district was low as the import of mountain goats from Tibet has almost stopped since last year as the border points with China remain closed after the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Farmers are not interested to sell goats by weighing but the FMTC has to purchase them based on weight. This has also affected the purchase of the mountain goats this year,” he said.
Traders are selling a chyangra (weight 25-32 kgs) at Rs. 32,000 to Rs. 35,000, he said.
They did not fix the price of mountain goats for this year due to price hikes and short supply, he said.
The FMTC had fixed Rs. 600 per kilogram for live goats but the suppliers are selling goats at a higher rate than the FMTC-fixed price, he said.
“We visited Upper Mustang in search of mountain goats but they are not sufficient,” he said. “Farmers have increased the price. It is up by Rs. 200 per kilogram.”
The FMTC has been supplying mountain goats from Mustang to Kathmandu for the last five years.
According to him, only around 5,000-6,000 chyangras are expected to be supplied from Mustang to Kathmandu and other districts this year while it had supplied above 15,000 mountain goats previous years.
However, the Company would sell goats in the festival as it has been planning to purchase goats from Dang and Hetauda, Khanal said.
“The primary purchase committee formed under the coordination of Chief District Officer of Dang and Makawanpur is fixing the purchase price of goats. The process to purchase goats will start within a week by fixing the rate,” he said.
He said that they would bring around 2,000 goats in Kathmandu in the first lot and start selling them from October 8.
He said that the Company would increase supply if the demand increased in the market.
Source : TRN,
