KARACHI: Merchants, city govt agree on meat prices
By Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Oct 3: The price of mutton has been fixed at Rs210 per kilogram while the rate of bachiya with bones has been set at Rs125 per kg for Ramazan starting from Oct 6. The price of beef with and without bones has been fixed at Rs100 and Rs120 per kg respectively. However, the rate of bachia without bones has not been fixed.
The rates were announced after an agreement reached between the city government and meat merchants in a meeting on Monday.
In another development, the meeting between the city government officials and diary farmers, wholesalers and retailers have failed to reach mutual consensus on the price issue.
Dairy farmers remained adamant in selling loose milk and yogurt at the existing rates.
Executive District Officer (Enterprise and Investment Promotion) Raeesuddin Paracha said that initially the District Coordination Officer (DCO) had asked the dairy farmers and milk traders to fix the rate at Rs25 per litre for the holy month.
Afterwards the DCO agreed that the price of loose milk should not exceed Rs26 per litre but the stakeholders of dairy farming industry refused the idea of the DCO. “We will issue the loose milk rate on our own and it would be less than Rs26 per litre,” he said adding that the government will take necessary action against the milk retailers for violating the official price in the holy month.
The joint secretary of Dairy Farmers Association, Dr Rafiq Babar, said that negotiations with the city government had failed as it had been pressuring the stakeholders to sell loose milk at Rs26 per litre which was impossible in view of burgeoning cost of production due to various external factors. Besides, he added, frequent increase in diesel and petrol rates had further played havoc with the farmers.
He said that the association members had already been assuring the price regulators for selling loose milk and yogurt at the existing rates. There would neither be any shortage of the commodity nor would the retailers and wholesalers demand excessive money from the consumers. Price would remain intact at the old rates during Ramazan and till March 2006, he said.
However, he said that the association had assured the city government that it would take stern action on its own against retailers and wholesalers in case they were found fleecing the consumers.
He said that the stakeholders would think of providing some relief to the consumers if the city government issued a notification of Rs28 per litre for loose milk. But, the price regulators had refused the association’s offer, he added.
Rafiq Babar said farmers had been facing losses as the original cost of loose milk comes to Rs32 per litre while milk was being retailed at Rs28.
Coming back to meat rates, it has been noticed that the mutton has already been selling at Rs220-250 per kg in various markets depending on the areas while beef without bones (bachia) is being retailed at Rs130-140 per kg.
Last year, the government had issued a price list for meat carrying different rates in three categories as per its quality.
EDO Raeesuddin Paracha said that the idea had been skipped this year as meat traders usually could find an easy way to fleece the consumers on quality grounds.
However, it is not yet clear how the consumers would get the quality meat, especially mutton, since its price has been brought down by Rs30 to Rs40 per kg by the city government from the current market rates. Clever meat merchants will definitely find new ways and means to mix up the mutton quality with mediocre and poor qualities and will demand the official price of Rs210 per kg from consumers.
Meat merchants will enjoy a free hand in selling bachia meat (beef without bones) in absence of any official price. It is already being sold at Rs160 per kg.
As two days have left in Ramazan, the city government is still looking for magisterial powers for its officials who will act as a watch dog in checking profiteering by the retailers and traders.
“I have come to know that magisterial powers have been delegated, but we have not received any written communication so far,” Mr Paracha said.
