KATHMANDU: The prices of daily essentials such as food, vegetables, and eggs has surged, largely due to supply chain disruptions caused by floods.

In mid-June, Nepal Rastra Bank had announced that overall inflation was the lowest in 32 months, but the prices of daily consumer goods have skyrocketed with the onset of monsoon. Especially the price of eggs has skyrocketed. In the market, the price of large eggs per crate has reached Rs 750 and medium-sized eggs are sold at Rs 660. The price of small eggs has also reached Rs 570 per crate. There are 30 eggs in a crate.

The Nepal Layers Poultry Farmers Association recently set the price of eggs at the production site at Rs 530 per crate for large eggs, Rs 510 for medium eggs, and Rs 490 for small eggs. Businessmen shared that the price of eggs has increased after the H9 virus infection increased and chickens started dying all over the country.

According to Pravin KC, president of Nepal Egg Producers Association, about 1.5 million layer chickens died in the country due to the disease during summer. He said that with the death of chickens, egg production has decreased by 50 percent and its effect is currently visible in the price. According to KC, around 2.4 to 2.5 million eggs are produced daily in the country.

It is said that despite the increase in consumer prices, farmers are still unable to get a fair price. Small farmers are no longer able to raise chickens after the 'H9' virus infection started killing chicken. Stakeholders alleged that some large and limited farmers are taking over the egg market and raising the price arbitrarily.

Although the 'H9' virus does not show a high mortality rate like the well-known bird flu disease, sometimes entire chickens on the farm die due to the infection of other diseases along with this virus. The Department of Livestock Services has informed that the government will not provide relief and compensation for this infection unlike in the case of bird flu.

According to the department, it is the government's policy to get relief only if chickens die due to infection with the H-5 bird flu virus. The meeting of Nepal Layers Poultry Farmers Association held on July 12 has increased the price of eggs from the same date.

Similarly, due to the continuous rains, the condition of the roads has deteriorated following floods and landslides in various places and the vegetables grown in the farmers' fields have also been damaged by the rains. The Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee has said that the prices of vegetables have increased by 200 percent in the Kalimati wholesale market in the last two weeks. The price of green pumpkin was Rs 25 per kg on July 1, but it has now reached Rs 75. Similarly, the price of bitter gourd rose from Rs 36 per kg to Rs 95. The general public has to pay more in the retail market.

Geeta Prasad Acharya, president of Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Traders' Committee, said that the price of seasonal and green vegetables has increased due to the problem of vehicular movement due to continuous rains. Vegetables brought from the districts near the Kathmandu Valley have arrived, but there is a problem in bringing vegetables from the Terai districts and India due to the floods.

The central bank recently released a report that showed the overall inflation was 4.17 percent in mid-June. This inflation rate is the lowest in 32 months. According to the Central Bank, although the price of the non-food group has decreased significantly, the price of the food and beverage group is high.

The report published by the central bank mentions that food and beverage category inflation stood at 5.76 percent in the review month whereas non-food and service category inflation stood at 2.94 percent.

Under the food and beverage category, the y-o-y price index of vegetable sub-category increased 16.02 percent, pulses and legumes 11.76 percent, cereal grains and their products 7.32 percent, sugar and sugar products 6.98 percent and non-alcoholic drinks 5.95 percent.