September 27: With the great festivals of Hindus including Dashain and Tihar just around the corner, the buying and selling of goods in the market has increased. The crowds of consumers, especially in food and clothing stores, are on the rise.

Nowadays, the main business centers of Kathmandu such as Asan, Indrachowk, New Road, Khichapokhari, Thamel, Koteshwor, Kalanki, Kalimati, Nayabazar and other shopping areas can be seen crowded with consumers.

During the last Dahsain, most of the consumers had not been able to go to the market due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, trade fell by about 85 percent during last year's Dashain compared to normal days, according to the businessmen. However, traders say that is not the case this time.

Santosh Pun, who has been trading readymade garments in New Road, Khichapokhari said that there has been some improvement in their business as the Dashain approaches. Earlier, 15-16 customers used to come to his shop daily. But now, the number of customers visiting his shop is more than double on a daily basis. He added, due to the pandemic, there were some problems in the import of garments from other countries and that they couldn’t fulfill the requirements of their customers.

As compared to other times, the trade of shoes, slippers and clothes increases by more than 40 percent on the occasion of big festivals like Dashain and Tihar in Nepal.

President of the National Federation of Nepali Entrepreneurs, Naresh Katuwal informed New Business Age that although the trade is not as good as in previous years, it has increased significantly this year as compared to last year.

Every year, Nepali traders have been importing readymade garments worth around Rs 25 to 30 billion from neighboring countries including India and China alone for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.

It is said that there has been some improvement in the business of food and grocery shops as compared to a few months ago. Naresh Gupta, who has been trading pulses, rice, nuts and sugar in Kalimati, said that there has been some improvement in the trade as the Dashain approaches.

"There's been some promising business this year compared to last year's Dashain," he said. He added, the demand for food grains including sugar, oil and spices is increasing now. He said that the daily transaction has increased by about 15 percent as compared to the previous times.