September 4, 2006

 

Pakistan to see rise in meat prices as India banned meat exports

 

 

India's ban on bone-in meat exports would force prices of mutton and beef in Pakistan to skyrocket in the next few months, local media reported.

 

Pakistan had imported fresh meat from India at an average of 220 tonnes a day during the last eight months from India, according to Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper.

 

The increased demand has arisen because bird flu drove consumers to choose red meat over poultry.

 

Although Pakistan can still import frozen meat from India, importers were reluctant to do so as it would not only be costlier but consumers also  preferred fresh meat.

 

India has also imposed ban on export of fresh meat to Pakistan and live buffaloes and cows.

 

Sources in Pakistan have hinted that India was trying to profit from the ban.

 

The average price of boneless fresh meat (buffalo) in India a kg was Rs70 (US$1.50), while that for frozen boneless meat was Rs90 (US$1.94).

 

The sources said complicated procedures of the ministry of food and livestock also hampered the import of livestock from India. According to official statistics available, no livestock was imported during the July-April period of the fiscal year 2005-06.

 

Pakistan's importers levelled criticism at its ministry of agriculture and livestock for their drawn out procedures when importing live animals from India- importers often had to wait for 15-20 days for getting quarantine testing certification.

 

During that period, the animal would lose weight, making live animal imports unfeasible for importers.

 

Analysts warned that consumers are likely to see rising prices if the government fails to take measures to identify alternative avenues.