September 30, Kathmandu 

As Dashain approaches, traders have started cheating consumers by charging arbitrary prices on daily necessities. It has been found that traders are taking arbitrary prices from food items to green vegetables. Traders have been charging Rs 15 to 20 more per kg for edible oil and Rs 10 to 15 per kg for beans. 

Consumers have been complaining that traders have been charging Rs 10 to Rs 20 more per kg after the daily food items started arriving at Rs 15 to Rs 20 cheaper a year ago.

Chairman of the Consumer Rights Forum Madhav Timalsina said that traders have taken advantage of the weakened market monitoring mechanism of government bodies. He said that the traders used to take arbitrary prices from the consumers as the Dashain approaches. Traders are cheating the consumers by increasing the prices of daily consumption food items like pulses, cooking oil and green vegetables. Chairman Timalsina said, "Edible oil has become more expensive by Rs 20 per liter than a week ago." The price of all pulses has gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg. They are getting double the price per kg of green vegetables.

He said, "But the government monitoring body, the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, has not taken any steps to control the unnatural rise in prices in the market."

Chairman of the Nepal Retail Trade Association Raj Kumar Shrestha said that the price of edible oil has gone up. He said that the prices of other pulses have gone up and down. He said that the price of cooking oil has gone up by Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kg. He said, "Even though there is no reason to increase the price of edible oil now, big traders have started making various excuses as the tenth is approaching." Wholesalers now charge retailers Rs 10 to Rs 10 more per pound of oil than on weekdays.

He said, "Consumers have to pay more in retail as the big wholesalers have started charging higher prices for oil to the retailers." The value of the dollar is declining. "In that sense, the price of oil should go down, but big traders have suddenly increased the price of edible oil.

Since edible oil is widely used during the Dashain festival, big traders use various excuses to increase their prices to take advantage of the unprofitable business of the year. Big businessmen have access to the top and no action can be taken against them by the government. That is why at every festival the big merchants raise the prices of daily necessities. Small retailers are to blame for the black market done by big traders. Chairman Shrestha said, "Big traders have taken advantage of the ineffectiveness of market monitoring by government agencies."

He said, ‘Real wholesale bills are not given to retailers when big wholesalers ask for them. The game of star-tapping between the consumer and the government belongs to the wholesaler. When the wholesaler does not pay the purchase bill to the retailer, the retailer becomes a participant in the punishment. Shrestha said, "The investigation should start from the big wholesalers whether the real food is black market or not."

Even if some retailers have blackmailed for petty greed, they should also be prosecuted. Shrestha says that the first step to stop the black market is to start from the big traders. He said that retailers should always force consumers to pay higher prices based on the prices charged by wholesalers.

Director General of the Department of Commerce and Supply Consumer Protection Netra Prasad Subedi said that the price of imported goods could not be controlled. He said that there would be problem in controlling the price of imported goods which can be controlled by the department by monitoring the goods containing indigenous raw materials. He said that the price of oil has gone up in the market as the price of oil has gone up by 25 percent in the international market.

He said that daily consumption of food items has also increased by 5 to 7 percent in beans. Director General Subedi said that a monitoring team will be deployed in the market by the department after finding out the real reason for taking more price from the traders. He informed that various oil mills will be monitored as the price of oil has gone up.