S M Mizanur Rahman :
Beef, a delicious curry item, has already started disappearing fast from the poor and middle income groups’ menu due to its skyrocketing price in capital Dhaka as elsewhere in the country.
Country’s red meat prices are feared to continue rise further as meat sellers are bearing the brunt to slaughter cattle due to extortion on highways, illegal commission and excessive tax.
As a result, they are being compelled to buy cows, goats, sheep and buffaloes from the cattle markets at high rate across the country.
The beef is now being sold at between Tk 500 and Tk 580 per Kg. The price of one Kg beef was Tk 280 two years back. In 2011, the price of one Kg beef was Tk 260 and the price shot by Tk 350 in 2015.
For Salma Alam, a housewife in Uttara, making some of her family’s favourite dishes like beef, has not been an option recently because of a surge in the price of red meat.
“It’s too expensive,” she said. “We just have to go without.” Earlier, the Bangladesh Meat Sellers’ Association and Dhaka Metropolitan Meat Sellers’ Association had gone for weeklong strike demanding “withdrawal of excessive tax imposed to them at Dhaka’s Gabtali. The also demanded stopping charging extra from traders by the Gabtoli Cattle Market lessee and money-laundering to India through Hundi, shifting tannery industries from Hazaribagh to Savar and withdrawing the Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Executive officer and Chief Estate Officer.
Later as Per additional Secretary of Commerce Ministry’s assurance they postponed their strike.
The meat sellers earlier claimed that they would be able to sell beef at Tk 300 per kg if their four-point demands is met.
DNCC Chief Executive officer in association with the leaseholders of Gabtoli Cattle Market Lutfar Rahman and Kala Moiza has been taking extra money from the cattle traders.
“In connivance with the DNCC Chief Executive Officer and Chief Estate Officer, Lutfar Rahman and Kala Moiza charge Tk 6000-7000 per head instead of government-fixed Tk 100,” Bangladesh Meat Traders’ Association Secretary general Rabiul Alam told The New Nation on Sunday. He said these three people are responsible for skyrocketing price hike of red meat in the country.
As Tk 6000-7000 is given to the syndicate members as commission for each cattle, the government is losing revenue from it.
“It is very unfortunate that although the commerce ministry assured of us providing all supports to run our business, practically no initiative has been taken to overcome the situation yet,” he said.
The meat sellers earlier claimed that they would be able to sell beef at Tk 300 per kg if their four-point demand is met.
“We are still saying if our demands are met and the hassles in importing cows from India are removed, we’ll be able to sell beef at Tk 300 per kg or even less,” he added.
He also threatened that they would go on a countrywide indefinite strike ahead of the holy month of Ramzan if their demands are not met
‘We have sat with Commerce Ministry. The officials of the ministry assured us of solving the problems. But we are still in critical condition,” he said. Besides, he said meat price has also increased as traders have to pay extortion at many points of highways while bringing cattle to the capital from different districts.
Besides, meat traders do not get fair prices for their rawhide as tanneries are not shifted from Hazaribagh to Savar, he added.
“We have to pay Tk 25,000 to Tk 30,000 as extortion for per cow,” he said, adding but government did not take any initiative in this regard.
“I bought a medium-sized cow from the Gabtoli cattle market at Tk 65,000 on Wednesday. Purchase price of per kg beef is Tk 480. I have to sell per kg meat at Tk 500 to 580 for my survival,” said a meat seller in city’s Moudha Badda area
When Contacted DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq claimed that they have given all out cooperation to the meat sellers to run their business smoothly at a reasonable price. “DNCC’ CEO is not responsible for hiking the meat price. The meat sellers have taken the chance, they increased the price again. Instead of selling the beef at a reasonable price, they hiked the price again,” he said.
