KATHMANDU, Sept 8: Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has set aside Rs 332 million for the purchase of goats and mountain goats for the Dashain festival.
The NFC plans to sell 2,500 goats brought from district such as Dang and Makawanpur and 1,000 mountain goats transported from Mustang this year. Both goats and mountain goats are yet to be brought to the Kathmandu Valley.
The distribution will start few days before Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain festival. NFC spokesperson Shankar Sapkota said: “We will start selling mountain goats one or two days before Ghatasthapana and other goats on the day after Ghatasthapana.”
60,000 goats to be brought to Valley for Dashain
“The NFC is bringing 1,000 goats from Makawanpur and Hetauda each and 500 goats from Dang while mountain goats will be brought from Mustang alone,” Sapkota told Republica.
“There is a difference of few hundred in supply as last year 1,450 mountain goats were brought for the festival while this year only 1,000 will be sourced,” he said, adding that the quantity of other goats sourced this year is similar to the previous year.
There will be a discount of Rs 10 per kilogram of body weight while selling goats and mountain goats. The goats and mountain goats will be sold in the NFC office at Bhadrakali Plaza, Kathmandu.
“The price has not been determined yet because the goats have not arrived in the valley,” Sapkota added: “Our costs, including transportation, will determine the price after its supply in the final destination.”
Last year, NFC had fixed the price at Rs 440 and Rs 450 per kilogram for goats weighing up to 25 kilograms and above 25 kilograms respectively. Similarly, the price of mountain goat stood at Rs 650 per kilogram.
NFC sells goats and mountain goats in the fair price market every year operated during the Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals. The market is being operated from September 1 to October 26 this year, which will open from 10 am to 5:30 pm every day.
