June 12, 2013

Nepal's frozen meat sales soar

Nepali consumers and supermarkets are reporting increased sales of packaged frozen meat items as it become increasingly popular.

Domestically produced and imported buff, pork, mutton, chicken, fish, beef and sea foods fill supermarket shelves in the Kathmandu valley. Beef and sea foods are imported while other types of meats are supplied by local producers.

The size of the local frozen meat market can be gauged by the sales figure of Bhat Bhateni Super Market, one of the major outlets in the valley. Bhat Bhateni says it buys meat products worth tens of millions from its each of its four suppliers annually.

Gourmet Vienna, Seafood, Urbanfood and Meat Co are the major suppliers of meat items to Bhat Bhateni. "Their annual transactions with Bhat Bhateni are worth NPR30 million to NPR40 million (US$321,000 to US$428,000) each," said Deepak Regmi, store manager at Bhat Bhateni, Maharajgunj.

He added that there has been an increased demand for packaged meat items. "It is probably due to rising health concerns that encourage consumers to go for certified hygienic meat items. Such products can be stored in a fridge for a longer period than the fresh meat bought from regular slaughter houses," said Regmi. 

Chicken sausages, chicken frankfurters, chicken drumsticks and chicken spring rolls are the fastest selling products at Bhat Bhateni, according to Regmi. The supermarket has also reported a rise in sales of sea food like fish, squid, salmon and others.

Likewise, Saleways Department Store is another big seller of frozen meat products. "The meat items we sell are all supplied by Nina and Hager. They supply all the meat products in our inventory from chicken, buff, pork and lamb to sea foods like squid, salmon, prawn and octopus," said Desh Magar, purchase officer at Saleways.

"Normally, sales are higher on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays," he added. The highest selling items are chicken meat, chicken cubes, buff meats and tenderloin steak while the most popular sea foods are squid, prawn and salmon."