Prices of mutton and beef went up by Rs 10 per kg on Thursday as shortage of slaughter animal was being reported from the bordering areas of Rajasthan and Tharparkar for the past one week.
Mutton was being sold at Rs 250-260 per kg and beef at Rs 150-160 per kg in some of the city markets. Good quality meet was further costly and its prices went up by Rs 20 to sell at Rs 280 per kg (mutton) and at Rs 180 per kg (beef).
Butchers said that they were at the mercy of the middlemen and wholesalers who dictate prices on daily basis. While prices for consumers are fixed, prices for butchers fluctuate on the basis of excess and shortage of animals in the mandi.
They said that butchers square off their positions by taking advantage of price fluctuation in Bakra Mandi. Mostly sacrificial animals come from across the border, mostly Rajasthan, with the connivance of border security forces.
They said that prices are likely to go up further as it happens each year two weeks before Eid. The animal after crossing borders are held back in villages and transported to the city only four to five days before Eid.
They said besides official slaughterhouses, there are private butcheries, which cater to the needs of wholesale purchaser, restaurants, hotels and eateries. Prices at these butcheries are fixed and comparatively lower than the market prices as they are in contract with their regular customers. But, beef and mutton is not available to common man from these places.
However, there are a few private butcher shops, which slaughter animals on the basis of requirement of their customers and sell it on higher prices. In North Nazimabad and Paposh Nagar butchers sell meet at Rs 260 to Rs 280 per kg. There are private butcheries on Sohrab Goth where customers can bargain on prices if purchasing full goat, lamb or cow.
Butchers said that import of goat and cow from India is one solution to meet the growing demand of meet. This is necessary to curb smuggling from across the border. Large quantity of slaughtered goat and cow is being exported to UAE and adjoining areas from India. Pakistan exports less than India. But export of meet from Pakistan also creates shortage and prices increase on the local market.
According to estimates butchers in the city ask for 0.2 million goats per day to meet the local requirement at affordable price. To butchers the affordable price is between Rs 220 to Rs 240 per kg.
They said that sustained supply of goat and cow was possible only through import from India. Super markets in posh localities favour tinned/frozen imported meet to maintain regular supply at fixed price. In their opinion it is the only solution to check malpractice by the traditional butchers who increase prices on festive occasion. Prices once gone up do not come down after the festival is over, said one shopkeeper.