Beef rates shoot up in Bangladesh as India restricts smuggling on cows

India’s strict vigil on cow smuggling into the neighbouring countries has led to rise in price of beef in Bangladesh.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had been told by Bangladesh high commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali that beef prices were rising in his country due to the Indian restrictions.

“The envoy (Syed Muazzem Ali) had told me that the rate of cow meat has shot through the roof in his country,” said India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh while addressing a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh said his government has goaded the Border Security Force (BSF) to step up vigil on India-Bangladesh border, as a result of which cow smuggling to the neighbouring nation had gone down sharply.

He claimed that before the new regime came to power in India, 1.3 million cows were being smuggled to Bangladesh annually and the number has now declined between 200,000 and 300,000.

That, he said, has impacted on the local price of beef in Bangladesh.

India’s Home Ministry had earlier appealed the BSF to intensify patrolling along the India-Bangladesh border to stop cow smuggling.

India has a 4,096-km long international border with Bangladesh, through which there is a thriving illegal cattle trade that BSF estimates to be around Rs 50 billion annually.

Meanwhile, Singh reiterated that Indian government is ready to talk to any militant group which would shun violence.

"The government will uphold the nation's dignity, security and integrity. At the same time, we are ready to talk to any Naxalite or militant group that shuns the path of violence," said Singh while addressing a function to honour senior citizens in his constituency.