60,000 goats, sheep to be brought to valley for Dashain

KATHMANDU, SEP 22 – At least 60,000 he-goats, including mountain goats and sheep, are to be brought to the Kathmandu valley to be slaughtered for the Dashain festival, livestock traders said on Saturday. The figure includes the planned consignment of around 4,000 he-goats by the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC).

However, they said that the goat demand could increase further as people in the Kathmandu valley are still avoiding chicken as a repercussion of the bird flu outbreak, which still continues in the valley. Supply and prices have a habit of going haywire amid the festival rush, with many traders out to make a killing.

Due to increased demand, both traders and the NFC officials said that the rise in transportation cost will make live goat meat dearer by at least Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg this year.

Deepak Thapa, president of the Nepal Livestock Traders Association, said that private traders will be supplying 50,000 he-goats and 5,000 mountain goats and sheep this festival. Around 80 percent of the countries goat demand is fulfilled by the Indian market. Goat buyers said they procure the animals from Salyan, Surkhet, Kohalpur, Nuwakot, Janakpur, Ramechhap, Dang and Dhading districts. Indian goats are mostly imported from Lucknow, Haridwar and Rajasthan.