When beef is beyond the reach of commoners, dairy farmers have come up with an announcement that they will reduce its price by Tk 50 per kg.
Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association (BDFA) made the announcement at a workshop organised by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) at the National Press Club in the capital on Sunday.
At the same time, the dairy farmers have put forward seven proposals, including improvement of cattle breed, leasing of government wasteland among them for grass cultivation, providing technical training, rise in leather price, tax reduction, and setting up of cattle markets and slaughterhouses to increase the meat prices in the market.
Director General of DNCRP A H M Shafiquzzaman was the chief guest at the stakeholder workshop.
Director of the directorate Manjur Mohammad Shahriar presided over the programme where Dairy Farmers’ Association President Md. Imran Hossain was present as the key speaker.
In his written speech, Imran Hossain highlighted steps to reduce the price of meat and keep it within the purchasing capacity of the middle and low income people.
He said now the main driving force of the country's rural economy is rearing and selling domestic animals, including cows, goats, sheep, chickens and others. “It is very important to take pragmatic measures to boost the rural economy.”
He also said, “Directorate of Livestock prepares four types of semen, including RCC, North Bengal Grey, Shahiwal and Munshiganj breed for artificial breeding of indigenous breeds of cattle.”
It is not possible to produce milk from these breeds of cows as they are only used for meat production. Two-year-old cattle of this breed can produce 120-150 kg of meat after proper management.
“But instead of crossbreeding these breeds with native cows, if we crossbreed with improved breeds like Brahman, we can produce 250-300 kg of meat from a two-year-old cow with the same amount of labour and cost.”
Only this action can reduce the cost of meat production to a large extent which will directly help in reducing the price of meat, he added.
As there is a shortage of land for grass cultivation in the country, the local government should give lease among the farmers for grass cultivation. At the same time, technical training should be given to farmers to make them skilled.
A meat trader spends Tk 8000-10,000 only on market rent (khajna) to buy a cow. The local government ministry can bring down the high rent through urgent measures, which will help reduce the prices of meat.
While speaking as the chief guest, Shafiquzzaman said consumers often complain about the sale of meat at high prices and at the same time make request to take initiatives to reduce the prices. “At the request of the consumers, we started discussing the issue of meat price.”
“We heard from farmers today why the price of meat is high and how to reduce it. These will also be discussed with other stakeholders. We will make a recommendation on the issues and send it to the high authority of the government. We hope that these measures will help reduce the prices of meat.”
At the end of the workshop, Imran Hossain announced their decision to reduce the meat price by Tk 50 per kg compared to the current price. This decision will be effective from today (Monday).
According to the market price of TCB, beef was sold at Tk 750-780 per kg on Sunday. But it was sold at Tk 800 per kg in many kitchen markets.
