Kathmandu:
Many families in Nepal are struggling due to reduced job opportunities and growing inflation amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which is continuing unabated and has increased the single-day cases to more than 10,000 in the past few days.
As a result, the prices of edible oil and ghee had surged year on year by 28.52 per cent, followed by pulses and legumes at 11.79 per cent, and tobacco products at 11.74 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.
In terms of the wholesale price index, wood and wood products saw the highest price rise of 26.35 per cent, followed by fuel and power at 22.27 per cent, and construction materials at 19.34 per cent.
Experts have said that rising inflation has been affecting the lives of the general people badly at a time when they are suffering from unemployment and less income.
“The biggest impact of higher inflation is on the daily wage earners and those with fixed incomes,” said Prakash Kumar Shrestha, chief of the economic research department at the central bank.
“The biggest impact of higher inflation is on the daily wage earners and those with fixed incomes,” said Prakash Kumar Shrestha, chief of the economic research department at the central bank.
“As inflation contributes to a fall in the purchasing power of people, it has affected the livelihoods of many downtrodden people.”
The experts have blamed the rising inflation in Nepal on supply chain disturbance, high petroleum prices, increasing transport fares and shipping charges.
The experts have blamed the rising inflation in Nepal on supply chain disturbance, high petroleum prices, increasing transport fares and shipping charges.
The South Asian country relies heavily on imported goods, particularly those from neighbouring India.
Nepal’s imports reached as high as 838.4 billion NPR ($7 billion) in the first five months of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July last year and around 60 per cent were from India. The imports are expected to rise more in the coming months. IANS