Eye-watering beef prices have only started to ease. So why are consumers wary of govt attempt to set a price?

At a time when traders are selling beef as low as Tk 550-Tk 580, why is the government, consumers ask, looking to fix a price of the red meat

Prohibitively high beef prices only recently started to come down below Tk 600 per kg with competition to lower prices heating up in marketplaces. The downward trend looks set to continue.

So why - consumers wonder - are efforts being made to set a new price floor?

They allege the price of red meat has tripled in the past decade, but no government agency has tried to find out whether sellers were raking in excess profits.

That raises the question as to why authorities are looking to set a price now amid the downturn.

They are asking that the government allow the demand and supply to stabilise so the price could drop further. But now, it seems, prices could rise once again.

“How can they discuss setting the price at Tk 650 per kg when I can buy beef for Tk 590 at Shajahanpur Bazar?” said Jibon Ahmed, a resident of Dhaka’s Shantinagar.

These efforts started when the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection began to intervene in the market. Though prices were falling, attempts were made to set the price at Tk 700-750 per kg.

“Why should there be so much manipulation?” the agency said. “The price should be stable.”

AHM Shafiquzzaman, the director general at DNCRP, said he was aware about beef traders making higher profit, but claimed that it was not under the government agency’s jurisdiction to set prices of beef weights in seer.

“They [traders] had been selling beef at Tk 750-Tk 800 for a long time, making Tk 150-Tk 200 in profits for each kg. We’ve been speaking about it for the last six months,” he said.

“Some traders have now taken steps to bring the sale prices down to Tk 595 and are also profiting from it. The consumers’ rights protection agency is trying to influence this downturn of prices by spreading the word in the market.”

Assuring that it was working, he said: “Now they [traders] have come up with a decision to set per kg price at Tk 650 by themselves. We will not watch how influential that decision becomes. I think the prices won’t stick to Tk 650, rather it will decline to around Tk 500 if we can prevent the irregularities which are being carried out for a long time.”

FALL IN PRICES

In 2014, the average price of beef in Dhaka was Tk 275 per kg.

It increased gradually and rose past Tk 800 per kg in many areas earlier this year.

As consumers turned away from beef for high cost, sellers began to reduce the price in the middle of the year and the rate fell to around Tk 600 in some areas.

Earlier this year, a butcher known as Kalu Koshai in Bogura’s Gabtoli, made headlines by selling Tk 580 a kg beef before Ramadan.

In November, Jalu Koshai in Narayanganj’s Siddhirganj Chattogram Road Stand began selling beef at Tk 600 per kg, drawing the attention of the mainstream and social media.

Images of a banner reading “Khalil Meat Sales, Tk 595 per kg” at Shahjahanpur Market went viral on Facebook.

Under pressure from the competition, a wave of falling prices swept across the chief marketplaces and local shops of Dhaka.

After the price hike, the butchers complained that they were struggling to make a profit, but sales have now increased threefold in some places after the decrease in prices.

Prices, however, still vary. In some areas, the butchers are offering beef at around Tk 750 per kg.

The debate on competition in the market reached a fever pitch in November when some people started to buy at Tk 600 in one area and then selling it with a mark-up in another area.

PROFIT AFTER SELLING AT TK 600

Abul Kashem of Mama Bhagina Meat Market in Mirpur-11 said his profit might have decreased after he began selling beef at Tk 549 per kg, but he has no regret as long as the customers are happy. “They’ll pray for me.”

Kashem said that attempts were being made to set the price at Tk 650 after considering the interests of all parties, especially those who want to make more profits.

“That’s the syndicate,” he said.

On Sunday, the DNCRP held a seminar to identify the issue with meat prices, but the traders ended up debating over quality of products.

Farmers, traders, superstore representatives, the Trade and Tariff Commission, market experts and other officials attended the seminar.

The traders, who have refused to lower the prices, alleged those who have cut the cost are selling low-quality beef with more bones and fat.

After hearing them out, Shafiquzzaman advised them to sit and fix a price.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Dairy Farmers’ Association and meat traders held a meeting and proposed to set the price of beef at Tk 650 per kg.

But a group of sellers objected.

Imran Hossain, president of Dairy Farmers’ Association, said their calculation suggests the traders’ profit will be Tk 30 per kg if they sell beef at Tk 650.

But Rabiul Alam, secretary general of the Meat Traders Association, questioned the calculation.

“Where beef is being sold at Tk 595 per kg, setting the price at Tk 650 is questionable. We think it’s possible to sell beef at even lower prices. The price is being increased for the farmers’ benefit.”

Several traders said a final decision will be made after a visit to the DNCRP headquarters on Sunday.

Dairy association’s Imran said: “I’ve received word that 90 percent of the meat shops in Dhaka were selling beef at Tk 650 on Thursday. One or two shops were selling beef at previous prices.

FIXING THE PRICE NOW WILL AFFECT CONSUMERS

Jibon Ahmed, a resident of Shantinagar, questioned the move to set beef price at Tk 650 per kg.

“If the price of a good starts dropping in the market, setting a higher price than the existing cost does not serve the people,” he said.

Shamim Hossain, another consumer, expressed frustration over the authorities’ “inaction” to prevent profiteering.

In Bangladesh, prices no longer depend on the market, although it is a free market economy, where supply and demand regulate production and labour as opposed to government intervention.

“Suppliers of meat and cattle are fixing the price. The same thing happened with sugar, flour and rice,” he said.

“A Competition Commission exists in this country, but its work is not visible.”

Consumer Zakaria Hossain also questioned the move to set the price at Tk 650 per kg now, the same as it was from July-November.

He bought beef at Tk 620 last week as prices continued to fall.

“Suddenly the commerce ministry, livestock ministry and meat traders began arguing over high prices. But still, the prices I see on TV and newspapers do not match with the actual rate,” Zakaria wrote on Facebook.

“Now the price of beef has been set at Tk 650 per kg in the open market for a month. But what was it earlier? What is the outcome of the announcement and discussions among the commerce ministry, the livestock ministry, the FBCCI and consumer rights agency?”

HOW PRICES SOARED

Meat Traders Association’s Rabiul said the city authorities had earlier fixed the price of meat every Ramadan since independence. That price had remained applicable throughout the year.

In 2018, beef price was Tk 430 per kg and the city corporations decided not to set the prices any longer that year, according to the Department of Agricultural Marketing.

Rabiul said beef prices rose to Tk 500 per kg in 2019 and then Tk 600 the following year. In 2021, it cost Tk 650 per kg, and Tk 700 the following year.

“Many consumers stopped eating meat after the prices inflated beyond control. Each year, as many as six million cows were slaughtered around the country, whereas, not even three million are slaughtered now. Some traders took steps to mitigate the situation.”

Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, said: “If prices can be lowered now, people will start eating meat again. As many as 10 cows will need to be slaughtered in place of one. Traders, consumers – everyone will be satisfied.”

WHAT’S THE USE OF SETTING PRICE?

Consumers object to setting prices also because traders do not follow the rates fixed by the government.

In September 2020, the government set a maximum price of rice but that did not stop the sellers from charging higher rates.

Earlier this year, the government fixed the prices of potatoes, onions and eggs amid soaring costs. The DNCRP conducted drives to monitor the market at that time.

Just as winter is setting in, the prices of beef, chicken, eggs, fish and vegetables are falling.

Traders say both supply and demand of these products are high, which is contributing to further price cuts.

DNCRP’s Shafiquzzaman said: “Some traders began selling beef at Tk 600 per kg and that automatically triggered the drop in prices everywhere. This means the prices were abnormally high.”

Asked about why the government agencies did not take steps to normalise prices before, he said: “We discussed these matters at a programme at the Press Club in July. We came up with a bunch of recommendations. But the agencies that were supposed to implement them failed to do so.”

Imran said: “It is more important for the government to set the quality of the meat than fixing prices. Setting how much bone or fat a kg of beef should contain would play a big role in steadying the market. No one will be able to deceive the consumers while no low-quality meat would be sold either.”

“So we, on behalf of the association, recommended 750g of pure meat, 200g of bones and 50g of fat in each kg of beef.”

Md Manzoor-e-Khoda Tarafdar, treasurer of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, sees the suggested quality of per kg beef as a positive move, but thinks setting Tk 650 for each kg of meat will not be “favourable for the consumers”.

“Beef is being sold in marketplaces for TK 595 per kg already and that rate has drawn praise. Those who are setting the prices are a pressure group. But this cycle of setting prices has broken the long-time high price trend.”