It is a matter of worry that prices of various dry fruits, especially green cardamom, have skyrocketed in the Kathmandu Valley with the Tihar festival approaching. Over the past couple of days, shops at New Road, Makhan, Indrachowk and Asan have remained crowded by shoppers to buy dry fruits and other items for the Tihar, which is also known as the ‘Festival of Lights’. These places witness a large number of consumers from different parts of the Valley as well as outside it because they have a perception that dry fruits are much cheaper there as compared to other places. The demand of dry fruits remains much higher during the Tihar festival than other times of the year as sisters mostly offer such fruits to their brothers. Consumers look for a variety of dry fruits ranging from cashewnuts, almonds, pistachio and raisins to walnuts during the Tihar. Their value lies in the sense that they are useful to human health.

According to the news report published in this daily the other day, the price of green cardamom has risen three folds this year compared to the last year. One kg of green cardamom now costs up to Rs. 6,000. One year ago, its price stood at only Rs. 2,000 per kg. Price of cashewnuts, pistachio, cardamom, almond and date has increased by Rs. 100 per kg in the market this year compared to last year, he said. Likewise, the retail price of cashewnuts ranges from Rs. 1,450 to Rs. 1,800 per kg, while pistachio costs Rs. 1,750 to Rs. 1,800 per kg. Likewise, one can buy almond for Rs. 1,400 per kg while walnut at Rs. 650 per kg. Similarly, the price of large cardamom ranges from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,400 per kg while raisins and cinnamon cost Rs. 600 per kg. Green cardamom is reported to have been more expensive in India as well. Large cardamom is available at Rs. 1,200-1,400 per kg and cloves cost from Rs. 1,800 to Rs. 2,000 per kg. Costs of cashewnuts, pistachio, cardamom, almond and date have increased only by Rs. 100 per kg in the market this year compared to last year. The price of per kg coconut is Rs. 450.

Traders at Asan say that the sale of dry fruits have gone up by fifteen fold during the Tihar festival compared to the normal period. However, there has been a tendency among consumers to buy dry fruits during the Tihar even when their prices increase significantly. As per the traders, an average consumer purchases dry fruits worth at least Rs. 2,000 for the Tihar despite their price hike. Prices of dry fruits differ from one place to another based on their quality. As Nepal does not produce these fruits, the country depends for them on India and other countries. One of the reasons for the exorbitant rise in the prices of dry fruits is a lack of a strong market monitoring mechanism. The authorities concerned must pay due attention towards monitoring the market on a regular basis so as to check unnecessary price rise and other market anomalies.