KATHMANDU: Domestic gold traders, who used to be busy making gold and silver ornaments targeting the ‘Dhanteras’ festival which lies just before Tihar, are still in a state of wait and watch this year.
According to Manika Ratna Shakya, senior vice president of the Federation of Gold and Silver Entrepreneurs, gold and silver jewelry are usually prepared before Tihar as it is not possible to prepare them during the busy festival time. “However, this year we have not prepared any ornaments or jewelry till date,” he added.
He mentioned that demand for gold and silver goods will be very low this year and can be fulfilled with the existing stock. “We will make new products but only if there are orders in large numbers. Entrepreneurs will make goods depending on the situation as we will have to see if the goods will be sold or not,” stated Shakya.
Gold entrepreneurs have said that there will be less business this year compared to the previous year. They informed that in previous years they used to get orders about two to three weeks before Tihar but this year there has been no order as such.
Most traders have stated that they are scared of making new products because there is no certainty that they will be sold. Moreover, since the price of gold and silver has been continuously rising due to the increase in price in the international market and the coronavirus, traders believe that they will not be many buyers this time.
Gold price has been rising steadily after the presidential election in the United States as there are talks that there might be a crackdown in the market to control the pandemic.
The price of gold had been declining before the US presidential election but it has started going up now as a result of which it has become expensive in Nepal too, as per Shakya. “Since the price of gold has been consistently rising it will be too risky to make any goods at the moment,” he added.
Under normal circumstances, more than 400-500 kg of gold items and over 2,000 kg of silver goods are sold during the festival. However, due to the rise in gold prices last year too, there was not much trade last Tihar also.
There is a tradition of buying gold or silver goods on the day of Dhanteras in the Terai region of Nepal and India. Similarly, buying gold, silver, jewelry and utensils on this day is believed to remove all the negative vibes in the family and is considered beneficial for every member of the family.
So, the goods are traded especially on Dhanteras. There is also good trade of goods during Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja. Entrepreneurs also stock newly designed jewelry and accessories according to the customers’ demand. Silver coins are mostly sold during the festival due to the belief that Goddess Laxmi resides in the homes of those who have silver coins.