No let-up in alarming price hike

The price of musuro (broken lentil) has gone up by 35 per cent in a year whereas that of coarse rice has gone up by 17 per cent. However, due to the bird flu scare in the eastern district of Jhapa chicken price has gone down by 28 per cent in Kathmandu Valley.
"The price of musuro is 35 per cent higher this January than last, though it decreased by three per cent from last month," said a report jointly prepared by World Food Proframme (WFP)-Food Security Monitoring and Analysis System, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives-Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness Promotion and Marketing Development Directorate, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Consumer Interest Protect Forum.
The two per cent increase in the price of coarse rice in January signals the start of the seasonal downward trend in prices after paddy harvest, but the price of coarse rice still remains 17 per cent higher than last January, it said. "Prices are expected to continue increasing until the next harvest and this price trend needs to be closely monitored," it warned.
Wheat prices, however, remained relatively constant in comparison to December but have increased by two per cent in comparison to last January. "The recent reports of bird flu in the eastern border district of Jhapa has resulted in a 28 per cent decrease in the price of chicken in Kathmandu," the report said.
Due to lower priced Indian commodities' impact in Nepal, mustard oil and soybean oil prices have decreased by 3.5 and two per cent, respectively. "But cooking oils are still higher by approximately 30 per cent than last January," it said.
The report has voiced serious concern over the cost of transportation that still remains high in spite of reduction in fuel prices by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).