SATV Kathmandu, Jan. 13: With the approach of Maghe Sankranti festival, the supply of root vegetables, including yam, sweet potatoes and cocoyam, has significantly increased across markets in the Kathmandu Valley.
Local traders and wholesalers have reported an increase in the supply of these traditional roots, which hold cultural and religious significance during the festival on 14 January.
Similarly, consumers are busy purchasing yam of their choice, one of the widely eaten items during the Maghe Sankranti festival, which falls on Tuesday.
They boil the yam on the last day of Poush and eat it the next morning with ghee, chaku and Sakhkhar. People consume various kinds of yams, either boiled or with some condiments, while marking the Maghe Sankranti festival.
The yam varieties known as Hattipaile, Ban Tarul, Seto Ghar Tarul, Pani Tarul, Patale Tarul and Simal Tarul, among others, can be seen in the market these days. The prices of the yams vary based on their types.
Traders said that different varieties are available in the retail market, with their prices ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 250 per kg.
According to Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board (KFVMDB), daily around 125-160 tonnes of yam is being supplied from various districts, including Sarlahi, Dolakha, Palpa, Dhading, Ilam, Dhankuta, Kavrepalanchowk and various parts of Tarai districts to the Kathmandu Valley for the last three days.
Around 160 tonnes of yam has entered the Kalimati wholesale market on Saturday while 124 tonnes of yam was supplied to Kalimati market on Friday and 96 tonnes on Thursday.
Similarly, 48.9 tonnes of sweet potatoes and 16 tonnes of cocoyams arrived in Kalimati market on Saturday while 55 tonnes of sweet potatoes and six tonnes of cocoyam entered on Friday.
The price per kilo of yam ranges from a minimum Rs. 100 to maximum of Rs. 200 at wholesale market, said Binaya Shrestha, information officer of Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Board (KFVMDB).
The price of yams increased this year compared to last year by Rs. 20-30 per kg in wholesale market, he said.
He said the Patale and Ban Tarul variety were being sold at above Rs. 230 per kg which makes them the most expensive varieties of yam currently available in the market.
Another variety of yam, which is supplied from Sarlahi district, is being sold at Rs. 100 per kg. This is the cheapest variety in the wholesale market.
Average price of a kg of yam was Rs. 100 in Kalimati market on Sunday, up from Rs. 70 a year ago.
Similarly, the prices of sweet potatoes and cocoyam increased this year than last year. A kg of sweet potatoes is being traded at Rs. 80 and cocoyam at Rs. 100 in Kalimati market at present. A year ago, price of sweet potatoes was Rs. 70 and cocoyam Rs. 60.
A retailer of Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur Sanjaya Shrestha said that the price of yam has increased in the market due to short supply.
According to him, the price of yam has increased in retail market by up to 50 rupees per kg based on the verities this year.
The lowest price of yam (simal tarul) is traded at Rs. 100 in the retail market. Similarly, the price of yam supplied from Sarlahi is Rs. 120 in retail market on Sunday.
He said that he had sold a kg of yam supplied from Sarlahi at Rs. 90 last year.
He said that he was selling yams at Rs. 90 to Rs. 250 per kilo based on their quality.
Large number of consumers tend to buy yams which are available at Rs. 120-180 per kg. The flow of consumers to purchase the roots has increased in the markets from Saturday.
“I am selling a kilo of Hattipaile at Rs. 140, Patale at Rs. 250, Ban Tarul at Rs. 220," he said.
However, he said that the demand for yams has been declining over the past few years as a large number of young people migrate abroad and there are diabetes patients at every home.
