Onion, garlic, chicken prices up

Prices of dry onion, garlic, French bean, bitter gourd and chicken increased by around six per cent in February compared to the same month last year due decline in supply because of low production and lean season, whereas prices of potato, cabbage, radish and cauliflower decreased by around five per cent due to increase in supply because of harvest season, according to a report.
Wholesale prices of fruits and vegetables regularly monitored by the Kathmandu Fruits and Vegetables Market revealed a declining trend for cabbage, radish, cauliflower, carrot, spinach and broad mustard leaf, while commodities like dry onion, garlic, bitter gourd and French bean indicated an increasing trend which is mainly due to decline in supply as compared to the demand, said the report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture Development and World Food Programme (WFP).
They regularly monitor the food prices — in various markets across the country — which remained mostly stable over the past one month. The national average prices of coarse rice and wheat flour marginally increased by 1.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent and reached Rs 36 and Rs 39.8 per kg, respectively, it said.
Likewise, the price of blackgram slightly went up by 0.7 per cent, while that of broken lentil remained stable. Prices of edible oils like soybean and mustard showed a marginal increase but the price of red potato declined by 3.9 per cent, which is mainly due to increase in the supply as a result of the harvest period.
However, price trend in the regional markets showed somewhat different than the national trend. "The price of coarse rice remained stable in the major consumer markets, whereas it showed a declining trend in the hill and mountain markets with road access," the report said, adding that in the Terai markets, the price of coarse rice indicated an increasing trend. "Prices of wheat flour and broken lentil mostly showed an increasing trend over the past one month."
Wholesale prices monitored by Agriculture Enterprises Centre under the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in the five large markets — Birtamode, Kathmandu, Butwal, Surkhet and Dhangadhi — showed a mixed trend with marginal fluctuations over the past one month, it added.
The year-on-year inflation released by Nepal Rastra Bank increased by 10.1 per cent in February compared to seven per cent over the same period last year. The food and beverage group price index went up by 10.7 per cent against the 4.1 per cent of last year. The price index of transport has moderated to nine per cent increase as compared to 18.5 per cent over the same period last year.
Likewise, supply situation is so far normal due to smooth operation of transportation services across the country, it said, projecting that prices of most food commodities are likely to remain the same as in the past month.
" However, the increase in public transport cost including cargo carriers by more than 3.7 per cent effective from March 8 will likely to contribute to the rise of food prices mainly in the hill and mountain markets, whereas prices of lean season commodities are expected to remain high until the next harvest.