Beef sellers ‘still making profit’ after dramatic price fall

News Desk :
Beef prices have drastically fallen in Dhaka to around Tk 600 per kilogram after meat sellers charged the customers Tk 800 or more for a year.
Butchers are competing to cut prices with some offering beef at as low as Tk 590 or Tk 580 per kg, even on Facebook, reports bdnews24.com
Some others are still trying to squeeze more money out of their customers while the superstores continue to sell at higher prices.
Customers say the sellers developed a high profit-making habit, but were forced to lower prices because of plummeting demands.
Beef has always been in high demand in Bangladesh but people avoided buying it after the prices crossed the level beyond their reach.
The traders who had sold four cows a day struggled to sell one after the price hike.
They are still making profit overall now, as sales have gone up after the fall in prices. “We’re definitely making profit. The profit margin is lower but the sale is higher, so that’s making up for it,” said Mohammad Imran Hossain, president of the Dairy Farmers Association.
Prices of cattle feed fell by 20 to 30 percent in some cases, which also helped the beef price to go down, according to him.
Citing the Department of Livestock Services, he said as many as 2.4 million cattle heads remained unsold during Eid-ul-Azha and it impacted the market.
Political violence also led to a fall in demand, with fewer picnics, wedding parties and other functions, he added.
On Friday, more than 100 people lined up in front of Khalil Gosto Bitan in Shahjahanpur Bazar even at 1pm. Those cutting up the meat for customers could barely speak while working.
A customer, Shahriar Ahmed, said: “I’ve travelled here to buy meat on a Tk 50 rickshaw ride from Taltola. We’re getting good meat for good prices here.”
A shop named Halal Meat right beside Khalil’s shop was selling meat at Tk 595 per kg. Shaju Ahmed, the shopkeeper, said: “We don’t know for how many days we’ll be able to sell like this. We’re getting cows at lower prices, so we’re selling at a lower rate as well.”
Prices of other products, such as fish, vegetables and chicken, are also dropping fast as lower costs of beef have grabbed the spotlight.
Goat meat prices fell below Tk 1,000 a kg while broiler chicken now costs Tk 150 to Tk 155 per kg.
Fish prices also dropped while the cost of each dozen eggs slipped below Tk 120, something the government failed to do after setting Tk 144 as maximum price.
Beef prices started soaring after India tightened border control to stop cows from being smuggled into Bangladesh when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014.
It created a sudden shortage, but became a blessing for local farmers whose business flourished and Bangladesh gradually became able to meet the demands by itself.
But the customers did not get the benefit of rising production as prices tripled over the span of nine years.
According to the Department of Agricultural Marketing, beef cost Tk 275 per kg in 2014, while broiler chicken cost Tk 137 per kg. In 2018, beef prices rose to Tk 430 and chicken prices dropped to Tk 131.
Beef was available at Tk 550 a kg even in 2020.