The Ministry of Agriculture announced that it is importing cattle from Ethiopia, Chad, Uganda and Sudan to meet domestic meat demand. The cattle is expected to arrive in the next few days, and will be slaughtered and sold for LE12 per kilo.
The ministry plans to import 1500 heads of cattle each month and will increase the number of heads to 4500 per month by year’s end. The increased import of cattle is a response to rising meat prices in the domestic market. The price of imported meat rose by 10 to 15 percent over the last two days, with the greatest price increase for Brazilian meat.
Alaa Radwan, head of the Meat Importers Association, attributes the price increase to the actions of the authorities, who are currently holding 7000 tons of frozen Indian meat at the airport, even though the meat was previously approved by veterinary services.
“Brazilian companies exploited the rumors about the quality of Indian meat and raised their prices from US$3000 to US$5000 per ton,” Radwan said.
Meat importer Nader Sweilam said butchers sell the cheaper imported meat for the same price as local meat because consumers cannot tell the difference.
The Federation of Consumer Protection Associations plans to meet with meat importers and veterinary services to address issues surrounding the import of Indian meat.
The butcher boycott campaign called for by the federation has succeeded in bringing down prices in some areas, said Soad el-Deeb, vice president of the federation.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
