Rising costs and supply bottlenecks make Dashain shopping dearer

Inflation, flood-damaged trade routes, rising import costs and concerns over market manipulation are pushing up the cost of essentials, leaving consumers facing a more expensive Dashain

Heavy footfall in the Asan and New Road areas for Dashain shopping. Photo courtesy: RSS

KATHMANDU: With the onset of Dashain, consumer footfall in the market has begun to increase. New clothes are hanging in shops, and scenes of consumers bargaining with vendors can be seen. Crowds of consumers are also thickening around grocery stores.

Activity has increased for Dashain from food grain stores to clothing, vegetable, and fruit shops. Alongside this, another scene is visible in the market: consumer anxiety.

Consumers arriving at the market carrying long lists of items to purchase for Dashain appear distressed upon hearing the prices. Sangita Lingkha Limbu from Lalitpur, Dholahiti went to New Road for shopping last Thursday. She was shocked to see that the prices of goods had increased. According to her, a Singaporean lungi that used to cost Rs 1,200 to 1,300 previously has now reached Rs 1,600. She found that the prices of other clothes had also increased. Her experience is that prices have risen across the market from food grains to gas. She says, “Earlier, cooking oil that cost Rs 2,450 per carton cost Rs 3,200 this time. I had to pay Rs 2,200 for a cylinder of gas.”

In the experiences of consumers reaching the market to do Dashain shopping, the prices of everything from food grains to clothing have increased compared to the previous year. It is customary for Nepali people to wear new clothes and especially eat a lot of meat during Dashain, but this time right before Dashain, the prices of both have increased, states consumer Tulasi Thapa. He says, “Every year during festivals, prices rise in the market. Consumers like us are bearing the brunt of the situation.”

A traditional bamboo swing locally known as ‘Linge Ping’ constructed during the festival of Dashain mainly in Nepal. File photo

Consumers and business owners state that goat meat in Kathmandu now costs Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,700 per kg, up from Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,400 during last year’s Dashain, costing Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,700 this time. In the months from mid-July to August, bird flu spread in the Kathmandu Valley. Following that, consumers started eating goat meat instead of chicken meat, and with the increase in demand, prices also spiked, according to business owners. After some time, the impact of bird flu subsided, but the price of meat remained high. Meanwhile, farmers have been receiving an average of only Rs 800 per kg for live goats.

The price hike of consumer goods such as clothing and food grains in the market has been ongoing for a few months. The current economic and financial situation report of the country based on the statistics of the first month of fiscal year 2026/27 published by the Economic Research Department of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on September 18, 2026, also shows that inflation has occurred in the market as felt by consumers.

In Kathmandu, goat meat that was selling for Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,400 per kg during Dashain last year is now priced at Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,700.

According to the report, the annual consumer inflation reached 5.96 percent in the first month of the current fiscal year. In the same month of the previous year, such inflation was only 1.68 percent. During the review period, the price increase of the food and beverage group was 6.77 percent and the non-food and service group was 5.52 percent. Similarly, the annual point-to-point wholesale inflation reached 8.27 percent, which was 2.37 percent in the same month of the previous year.

According to the NRB, in the first month of the current fiscal year, which is from July 17 to August 16, the price of ghee and oil increased the most by 15.62 percent, while fruit prices increased by 15.39 percent, fish and meat by 8.65 percent, and vegetables by 6.90 percent. The report mentions that spice prices also increased by 4.80 percent.

Among non-food items and services, the price of transport increased the most by 13.17 percent. The NRB report mentions that the price of alcoholic beverages increased by 7.20 percent, clothing and footwear by 5.52 percent, and tobacco products by 4.97 percent.

Such price increases also appear geographically varied. In the first month of the current fiscal year, inflation was the highest in Madhesh Province at 6.94 percent while the lowest inflation of 4.61 percent occurred in Sudurpashchim Province. Similarly, inflation was 6.64 percent in the Terai region, 5.95 percent in the Hilly region, 5.10 percent in the Himalayan region, and 4.81 percent in the Kathmandu Valley. The NRB report mentions that inflation was 6.18 percent in rural areas and 5.88 percent in urban areas. Economic and financial reports following that have not been published so far.

Shoppers gathering in Lagankhel, Lalitpur, for clothes and other items with the onset of Dashain. Photo courtesy: RSS