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The government is yet to undertake any initiatives focused on addressing the persistent instability in the country’s beef market.
Responding to queries, relevant government bodies such as the Directorate of Livestock, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and Directorate of Agricultural Marketing said they do not collect data on beef production costs, a reasonable price ceiling at wholesale and retail levels, and acceptable profit margin for sellers.
Due to this lack of oversight, beef sellers are charging people whatever they wish, which in turn is turning the market volatile, say insiders, adding that the unregulated state of this market is allowing syndicates to raise prices unopposed, and preventing sales at low prices.
Beef is currently being sold for Tk 700 – Tk 750 per kg in various markets across the capital including in Segunbagicha and Shantinagar, compared to Tk 650/kg recorded before the last January 7 polls.
Consumers have expressed concerns over the possibility that beef prices per kg may hit Tk 800 before the holy month of Ramadan, if the existing volatility in the market continues. From June to November last year, traders had increased beef price on multiple occasions, price of the item peaked Tk 850 per kg.
Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association (BDFA), a major supplier in the sector, pointed out that the retail traders will still make a tidy profit even if they sell beef for Tk 650 per kg.
The Department of Agriculture Marketing released a report back in 2017 investigating the reasons behind the sudden rise in beef prices. The report made some recommendations on adjusting production costs and prices.
However, the department is yet to release any further reports on this issue since then.
The Department of Livestock Services – which works under the fisheries and livestock ministry – is directly concerned with meat production sector.
To tackle the increase in prices of chicken and eggs, the department is working to determine the reasonable price at production, marketing and retail levels in the sector. They however have no such initiatives regarding beef.
Speaking to The Business Post, Director (Production) of Department of Livestock Services ABM Khaleduzzaman said, “We are currently documenting information about chicken and eggs, and updating our data every month. There is no such initiative on beef.
“No one even raised a discussion about the issue. But it needs to be worked on.”
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission regularly conduct research on various essential products and prepare reports on demand, supply, production costs and reasonable prices. However, the Tariff Commission is yet conduct any research on the beef market.
Responding to a query, Deputy Chief of Tariff Commission Md Mahmudul Hasan said, “There should be a full report on the production cost of beef, if it is too high, why it is high, how it can be reduced, and how much the retail price should be.
“However, we have not received any written order from the Ministry of Commerce in this regard, so we have not collected any information or prepared a report.”
Officials associated with the Tariff Commission’s market research said one of the reasons for the high cost of meat production in the country is the high price of animal feed, although almost all ingredients of animal feed are imported in duty-free facilities.
On the issue, Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP) Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman said, “Recommendations from a meeting, held early December last year on the beef price issue, have been forwarded to the commerce ministry and of fisheries and livestock ministry, because they are authorities on the matter.
“If they do not take any action on the matter, our monitoring and market operations will be baseless. A big syndicate is working in the animal feed business. According to our calculation, the feed mill owners are charging Tk 15 – Tk 16 more per kg of feed.”
Although the government has no data on beef production, calculations performed by the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association (BDFA) indicate even if the meat is sold at retail level for Tk 650 per kg, the sellers will make a profit of over Tk 50 per kg.
BDFA President Imran Hossain said, “There is some difference in average production costs depending on the breed of cow. Some breeds of cows gain 250 kg live weight in two years, but in advanced high breeds it can be up to 800 kg in the same timeframe.
“If the growth rate is high, the production cost per unit (per kg) will decrease. In a year, the animals, slaughtered by meat traders in slaughterhouses and sold for meat, gain one kilogram of meat by consuming seven kilograms of feed.”
He added, “Meat traders buy this type of cow from farmers at Tk 575 – Tk 600 per kg throughout the year. So if retailers sell beef at Tk 650, then their profit margin will be Tk 50 – Tk 75 per kg.
“Farmers should be given the opportunity to sell meat directly to get rid of this disorder.”
With the intervention of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP), the Meat Traders Association and the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association held a joint meeting on December 22 last year, and decided to sell beef at Tk 650 per kg.
In that meeting, it was decided that after a month, the two sides will meet and discuss the price again.
The price will be adjusted further if the cost of production, transportation and marketing increases or decreases. However, the sellers disregarded this decision and increased beef prices without any meeting.
Not only that, there are allegations that those who are selling meat at low prices are being threatened in various ways to increase the price, insiders say.
Concerned officials believe that in order to keep meat prices within the reach of common consumers, in addition to breaking the syndicate of sellers, it is important to provide policy support to the farmers.
It could include reducing animal feed prices, stopping extortion at various points, reducing the market tax (hasil), allowing the rearing of high-yield cattle breeds, selling meat in mobile vehicles at affordable prices under government management throughout the year, increasing the price of leather and milk, and the establishment of farmers market in Dhaka for direct sale.
According to farmers and traders, beef syndicates are often discussed in the meat market. But no one thinks about fodder syndicates. If all syndicates are dismantled and policy support is ensured, it is possible to sell beef to consumers even at Tk 500 per kg.
