Capital's restaurant business down by 50%

Along with the ban on chicken in the Kathmandu Valley in order to control bird flu, business in restaurants has gone down by a staggering 50 percent over the past two weeks, complain restaurant entrepreneurs. These restaurants, which have been struggling following the drunken driving campaign led by the government, have been badly affected by the bird flu outbreak. “Restaurants are mostly visited by non-vegetarian customers and chicken has always been their primary choice,” says Tejendra Shrestha, president of the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN). According to Shrestha, non-vegetarian people visiting restaurants prefer chicken over mutton and fish because of its cheaper, among other things. According to the REBAN officials, restaurants will take another couple months to return to normal business as the valley will be entangled in the crisis for long. “As most of the chickens have already been culled in the valley, it takes another three months for new chicken to hit the market - that is, if the bird flu outbreak is contained shortly,” adds Shrestha. “The restaurants are trying hard to retain the customers by offering an array of mutton, pork and mushroom as a kind of substitute for chicken, but it is easier said than done due to the soaring price of these items in the wake of bird flu,” says Gopal Singh, proprietor of Dill Durbar restaurant of Tinkune. Mushroom and mutton were retailed at Rs 210 and Rs 750 per kg respectively as of Friday. Singh warns that many restaurants in the valley will be forced to shut down in near future if the problem is not addressed soon. Restaurant entrepreneurs also say that though they have not yet increased price of their food items though prices of ´chicken substitute´ have soared, they will be compelled to do so if the crisis festers. “The prices are likely to soar by 10-15 percent the as market will still face chicken crisis for some months,” president Shrestha informed. According to some estimation, the Kathmandu valley alone consumes more than 250 tons of chicken a day out of 300 tons of chicken consumed in the country. Meanwhile, Nepal Chicken Sellers´ Association (NCSA) had reduced the price of chicken to Rs 200 per kg effective from Friday. Chicken demand slides in Pokhara Along with the fear of bird flu, the demand for chicken in Pokhara has gone down by 20 percent. According to Prem Prasad Paudel, president of Meat Entrepreneurs´ Committee-Kaski, the demand of chicken has been going down day to day.