While the poultry industry is slowly making a comeback with an increase in demand for chicken and eggs, lovers of red meat in Mumbai are being forced to pay a heavy price for indulging in their cravings as buffaloes are in short supply. As a consequence, mutton prices, which were at Rs 560 per kg, have now reached up to Rs 800 per kg. Chicken, on the other hand, has returned to its normal price of Rs 160 per kg.
Yogesh Shetye, general manager of the Deonar slaughterhouse said to a leading daily that around 3000 sheep and goats and 250 buffaloes were slaughtered at Deonar every day with animals coming from neighbouring regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. “Now, all that has stopped. We shut the abattoir also because social distancing became an issue,” Shetye said.
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“After suffering a setback, the poultry industry is back to doing business with chicken selling for even Rs 200 per kg as the rates for sheep and goat meat have shot up due to the unavailability of buffalo meat. Earlier, people had completely stopped eating chicken with the rates crashing to Rs 50-Rs 80 per kg. But now due to the lockdown, we are unable to get chicken and the prices have increased,” said Shahnawaz Thanawala, president of Bombay Mutton Dealers Association.
Some meat shop owners reportedly faced trouble getting goats to Mumbai and even had to bribe police on their way in. Sellers fear that this may eat into their profit margins given that the markets are shut and people are unwilling to pay a steep price for the same. Last year, in regions like Kolhapur and Sangli, mutton prices saw a steep rise due to the floods.
Several parts of Mumbai are currently sealed to curb the spread of Coronavirus. Maharashtra has also become the first state in the country to cross 1,000 COVID-19 cases. Authorities fear that there could be more cases in the coming weeks.
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