Mutton price soars, feasting sours

HYDERABAD: The month of fasting and feasting may have many gastronomic delights in store to woo the denizen’s taste buds but with mutton prices shooting up with the arrival of Ramzan, all recipes with meat as the key ingredient have invariably turned sour.
While a kilogram of mutton with bones cost the consumer Rs 340 a fortnight ago in neighbourhoods such as First Lancer near Masab Tank, the rate is now as high as Rs 410.Also, the price is not uniform everywhere as it has escalated to nearly Rs 460 per kilogram for a kilogram of boneless mutton as against the earlier Rs 420 in posh places such as Banjara Hills.
Citizens said that the hike has dampened their festive spirit. Syed Jahangir from Mir Alam Mandi said, “Ramzan is the time when my family likes to prepare traditional mutton dishes. But with the price rise, we have to watch our craving.”
Wholesalers and retailers indicated that despite the increase in the number of sheep and goats being slaughtered at abattoirs in the city, there is shortage of meat which has precipitated the price rise by more than Rs 50 per kilogram. They attributed this to the increased consumption of mutton in households and the large scale supply to restaurants for making haleem. Wholesaler Abdul Ateeq from Burhan Meat Suppliers said, “The shortage of meat is such that we are unable to cater to the needs of restaurants who order at least eight quintals of meat everyday from us. Apart from this, as much as one and a half quintals is sold to restaurants for other dishes like biryani.” Another wholesaler from Ziaguda said that sheep bought at Rs 3,500 each in other months may cost Rs 500 more this Ramzan.
According to Mohammed Saleem, contractor at the Chengicherla abattoir and president of Twin Cities Hotel Owner’s Association, there are around 2,000 shops which sell mutton in the twin cities out of which around 1,300 operate in the Old City alone. “The number of goat slaughtered is almost double during Ramzan. We expect more than 3,000 cattle to be slaughtered this month and expect a little over 50% to go to hotels for haleem,” he said.
While buying mutton may burn a hole in the consumer’s pocket, the price of chicken is expected to fall due to Shravan in which a section of the population abstains from eating meat. Syed Faiyazuddin from Eagle Chicken and Fisheries in Chowk said, “Due to Shravan, chicken price has come down to Rs 65 for a live bird from around Rs 90 a few days ago. Further, the consumption of red meat is more in Ramzan. This also has contributed to the decrease in price.”