KARACHI, Dec 3: Meat sellers have not reduced meat prices, though the city government had asked them on Saturday, Nov 30, to do so by Tuesday.

Poultry dealers have, however, responded to the government’s call and are considering lowering prices.

“Meat merchants have neither turned up after Nov 30’s two days’ deadline nor have they reduced the prices,” the District Officer, Enterprise and Investment Promotion of the City District Government Karachi, Major Syed Fasihuddin, told Dawn on Tuesday.

If the meat merchants did not respond positively by Wednesday, the city government would take strict action, conduct raids in markets and impose fines on those found overcharging.

He said even the general secretary of the Meat Merchants Welfare Association, Karachi (MMWAK), Iqbal Qureishi, who was asked at the previous meeting to come up with legal documents to prove his association’s legal status, had neither yet contacted the city government nor had he proved the legal status of the association to the city government.

The city government has sought clarification on the legal status of the association as it has information that Iqbal Qureshi is basically a jeweller. So he does not lawfully represent the association.

Market sources said on Tuesday the government’s efforts would not prove fruitful as Eid was hardly a day away and by then thousands of consumers would have already paid a high price for mutton ranging between Rs150-165 a kg as compared to Rs130-140 a kg before Ramazan.

The city government is expected to issue a last warning to the meat merchants on Wednesday morning, after which strict action would be taken for failure to comply with the government’s instruction.

On the other hand, leather exporters are facing problems due to shortage of good quality raw hides and skins. As a result of which export of leather garments is declining.

A leather exporter says export of sheep, goats, cows and buffaloes had reached Rs221 million in 2001-2002 from Rs146 million in the previous fiscal. Now the leather garment industry is facing problems in procuring good quality raw material.

He demanded of the government to impose a ban on the export of live animals so that the leather garment industry could be able to procure good quality leather and the prices of meat could come down.

POULTRY: Major Fasihuddin said the city government had a meeting on Monday with the Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association (KWPA) and the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) to discuss a price cut for Eid.