Supply of mountain goats, sheep down 50 pc

SINDHUPALCHOWK, Sept 30: The number of sheep and mountain brought from Tibet for the Dashain festival via Tatopani customs has decreased by about 50 percent this year as compared to last year.



Traders so far have brought just 6,314 sheep and mountain goats this year, down from last year´s 10,625.[break]



“The number is unlikely to increase as the Dashain festival has already begun,” Nirmal Hari Adhikary, chief of Tatopani Customs Office (TCO), told Republica.



Local traders said they procured less number of sheep and mountain goats this year because of factors like rise in customs valuation and increment in animal prices in Tibet.



“Unlike past years, Tibetan sellers didn´t bring the animals to the market this year. We had to visit farms ourselves. It took us 21 days to bring the animals to Nepal,” Majhi Bhujel, an animal trader, said. “In the past years, we could bring the animals to Nepal in just two days.”



This year, traders had left for Tibet a fortnight later than their initial plan due to road obstruction caused by incessant rains.



The appreciation of yuan vis-à-vis Nepali currency also raised their purchasing costs. “We had to pay Rs 6,300 per animal. This is Rs 600 each more than what we had paid the Tibetan seller last year,” Bhujel added.

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