November 8: The demand for dry fruits, which is excessively used during the festival of Tihar, has gone down this year. The price of dry fruits has also declined with the decrease in demand for the much needed-item.

Businessmen believe that the demand for dry fruits has declined because of the decline in purchasing power of the people due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sale of dry fruits normally goes up by 50 percent during Tihar compared to normal days but this year the sale is hovering around  30 percent, says Raj Kumar Shrestha, chairman of Retail Business Association.

He says that hotels and restaurants as well as sweet shops that normally buy large quantities of dry fruits have not been operation in optimal condition. This is also one of the reasons for the decline in demand for dry fruits, says Shrestha.

Shrestha says that businessmen are considering to sell the dry fruits at lower price this year fearing that the goods stored for long time in their godown might get damaged.

The association informed that the price of dry fruits has decreased by Rs 200 per kilogram in the retail market compared to previous years.

The price of pistachio has declined by Rs 50 per kg and is currently being sold at Rs 1850.

The price of cashew nuts has dropped from Rs 1750 to Rs 1550 per kilogram. The association informed that the prices of apricot, beetle nuts, small cardamom among others have also declined.

Pabitra Bajracharya, a retail store owner, says that the demand for sugar and flour used to increase during Tihar in previous years. But it has not happened this year. Instead, they are finding it difficult to sell the products.

Businessmen used to trade goods including spices and dry fruits worth Rs 600 million in Tihar. Most of them used to be imported from India.

According to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre, Nepal imported dry fruits and other essentials for Tihar worth Rs 1.46 billion in the current fiscal year. The import of the same  goods during last year was worth Rs 4 billion.