By Laxman Kafle-Three weeks ago, Padma Sharma sent her son to buy 200 grams of cumin powder giving him Rs. 100, but the son returned without carrying the powder. According to her, the boy told her that the shopkeeper asked for Rs. 190 for this quantity.
“I do not know why the cumin powder became so expensive in three months, its price rose from Rs. 90 (per 200 gram) to Rs. 190,” she said.
Obviously, the cuminseed (jeera) has become the most expensive spice item in the Nepali kitchen in recent weeks. Its cost jumped to Rs. 1,050 from Rs. 600 a kg a month ago.
The price of cuminseed has skyrocketed in the local market over the months which hit the consumers.
According to the traders, the price of cuminseed has increased in the local market due to increased import prices, especially in India. Nepal is fully dependent on import to meet the demand for cumin.
As per the price list, the price of cuminseed has doubled in the local market in the past seven months.
Sunita Pandey, trader of Teuda, Ason, said that the price of cumin, which was up to Rs. 450 per kg till last Dashain festival reached Rs. 1,040 per kg within the last seven months.
The price, which started rising after Dashain, has increased by Rs. 300 per kg in the last one month alone.
She said that because the price of cumin has increased in wholesale, its price has increased in the retail market also.
The retail price of cumin was Rs. 600 per kg a month ago.
The price of cuminseed increased significantly in a month as there was a shortage in the domestic market. Taking advantage of the situation, the wholesalers increased the price by Rs. 300 per kg citing that its price had increased in the Indian market too, she said.
President of Nepal Food Grocery and Wholesaler Entrepreneurs Association Devendra Bhakta Shrestha said that the price of cuminseed has increased in the local market due to the increase in its price in the international market.
“The price of the spice item has skyrocketed in India, and so the price has soared in Nepal too,” he said.
Almost 85 per cent cuminseed consumed in Nepal is being imported from India while the remaining 15 per cent come from other countries, he said. Nepal imports cuminseed from India, Turkey, Indonesia and Belgium but the highest amount comes from India.
The low production of cuminseed in India is leading to soaring prices there, he said, adding that the trend of price rise in India showed that the price may further increase in Nepal as well, he said.
The price of cuminseed has already reached above IRs. 500 per kg even in India.“Even though the price of cumin has increased, there is no shortage in its supply. But a month ago, there was a shortage in the Nepali market due to an increase in the price,” he said.
“It has been almost 7 years that I have been doing business in Ason and the price of cumin has not increased like this before,” said Pandey
Normally, the price hovered around Rs. 380-400 per kg in the last few years.
Dharma Mainali, another retailer of Ghatthaghar in Bhaktapur, also said that the price of cumin had increased in the local market recently.
“The price of cumin in the market has reached more than Rs. 1,000 per kg, but since I have the cumin in stock which was purchased at an old rate, I am selling it at Rs. 950 per kg till date,” he told The Rising Nepal.
He said that the price of cumin has increased every time they purchased from the wholesale market.
“We do not know the reason for the sudden increase in the price of cumin. But according to the wholesalers, the price has increased in the international market and, so does the price here in the local market,” he said.
According to him, cuminseed packets with different price tags (Rs. 650-Rs. 1,040) are available in the market, but consumers are forced to pay inflated prices even for old cumin packets.
“This indicates that black-marketing is in play here, so the government should monitor and control artificial price hikes if it is really happening in the market,” said Mainali.
He said that as per the views of wholesalers, there might be cuminseed shortage in the market during the next Dashain.
Consumption declines
Retailer Pandey said that the consumption of cumin has decreased with the increase in its price.
“Consumption has reduced by almost half. Consumers who used to buy 1 kg of cumin at a time have started buying half a kg, while those who used to buy half a kg have started buying only 200 grams,” claimed Pandey.
Gayatri Banjara of Bhaktapur said that consumers were hit by the sudden increase in the price of cuminseed. She said that cumin, which was bought for Rs. 700 per kg about one-and-a-half months ago, has now reached Rs. 1,040 per kg.
According to her, she reduced its consumption by half due to the price hike. She said that she bought only 500 grams of cumin at Rs. 520.
“Earlier I used to make spices by mixing half a kilo of coriander with one kilo of cumin, but now I plan to mix half a kilo of cumin with one kilo of coriander,” she said. She added that it was imperative for the government to monitor the market over the sudden increment of cuminseed price.
Import drops
Meanwhile, government records showed that the import of cumin has decreased during the current fiscal year.
According to the statistics of the Department of Customs, the import of cumin has decreased by 35 per cent in terms of quantity and 16 per cent in terms of amount during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last fiscal year.
The country has imported cumin worth Rs. 1.50 billion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.
The country had imported cumin worth Rs. 1.80 billion during the first 10 months of the last fiscal year.
Shrestha said that due to the price rise, the consumption of cumin decreased and so did the import.
No domestic production
According to the official of the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, there are no statistics on the production of cumin seeds in the country.
“In some places, cumin may have been produced by farmers for their own consumption, but it is not commercially produced. We are almost fully dependent on imports for its consumption,” said Dr. Hari Bahadur KC, Director General of the Department. TRN
