Meat traders' strike sends chicken prices soaring
Chicken prices saw an increase across the capital yesterday after meat traders started a six-day strike, protesting "overcharging" of fees on cattle purchase by the lessee of Gabtoli cattle market.
Butchers kept their shops closed in different parts of the city, and threatened to enforce an indefinite strike if their demand was not met.
Prices of each kilogram of broiler chicken rose by Tk 5 to Tk 145-Tk 155 yesterday from Tk 140-Tk 150 the previous day, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Some traders raised the price to as high as Tk 160 per kg, while local chicken prices shot up by Tk 10-Tk 20 from Tk 330-Tk 360 a kg.
Mohammad Abul Kalam, owner of Zorina Broiler House at Segunbagcha Multipurpose Complex, said broiler chicken prices went up by Tk 10 compared to the previous day.
An inadequate supply and increase in demand caused the prices of chicken to rise at the wholesale market, he said.
Demand for chicken usually remains low on Mondays, he said. “But today we see the demand has gone up since the morning. The meat traders' strike may be the reason of the increased demand.”
Mohammad Khokon Mia, a wholesaler at Kaptan Bazar, one of the main broiler chicken selling markets, said they saw a low supply of chicken, weighing between 1kg and 1.5kg, from poultry farming regions.
He said the actual impact of the butchers' strike would be clear if shutdown continued for a couple of days.
In Kaptan Bazar, the slaughter houses, where each day about 50 cows are slaughtered, remained shut yesterday due to the strike, said Mojibor, a representative of the meat traders.
Talking about the strike, meat trader Asgar Ali said despite having a valid trade licence, the lessee of the Gabtoli market, the only permanent cattle market in Dhaka, charged more than the city corporation-fixed fee if the price of a cow exceeded Tk 50,000.
The traders have been paying between Tk 200 and Tk 5,000 as charge for buying each animal over the last nine months, said meat traders, while the fixed rate is Tk 50 for a cow, Tk 70 for a buffalo, and Tk 15 for a goat.
The Gabtoli cattle market authorities denied the allegations.
MEAT AT RESTAURANTS
Restaurant operators said they would have to cut off beef and mutton from their menu if the strike continued.
This correspondent visited some restaurants yesterday and found that beef was still on their menu for lunch.
“We prepared the dish from the stock we had. But it will be difficult to offer beef and mutton from tomorrow (today),” said Kazi Zahirul Haque, manager of Chittagong Restaurant at Segunbagicha.
Md Aminur Rahman, owner of Café Mirpur Hotel and Restaurant, said the strike would not impact business of the restaurants much.
“Anyone who enters a restaurant usually does not leave if certain dishes are not available,” he said. “We will have to offer alternatives such as fish, vegetables, and chicken and explain the reasons of unavailability of beef and mutton.”
Golam Mourtaza, president of Bangladesh Meat Merchants' Association, said they would continue the shutdown until their demand was met.
Comments