DHAKA, June 12 � Improved surveillance on the Indo-Bangla border has directly affected the food industry in Bangladesh with the price of the country�s staple food beef going up by nearly 50 per cent in the last couple of months.
Restaurants and hoteliers based in Dhaka, Sylhet and other prominent areas have also hiked the prices of meat and other by-products much to the displeasure of beef lovers.
Those involved in the food industry in Bangladesh also attribute the steep rise of beef and its by-product prices to declining supply of cattle from India. India is a major source of cattle in Bangladesh, which are smuggled through the porous international border.
Md Shahed Ahmed, a Sylhet-based beef seller told The Assam Tribune that till April this year the price of one kilogram beef was around Rs 200 but now it has gone up to Rs 320 to Rs 350.
�There is very less number of cattle coming from across the border which is the main reason behind the price hike of beef,� Ahmed said.
�Besides, Indian cattle are the most preferred ones in Bangladesh,� he said.
Owner of Arif Hasan Meat Shop Md Ataur Rahman in Sylhet, was apprehensive that with the month of Ramzan around, prices of beef might go up further. We have never seen such rise in prices of beef in recent times.
Contrary to beef, however, the prices of chicken and mutton have remained stable, said Md Younis, a Sylhet-based trader. He quoted prices of chicken at Rs 120/kg (broiler) and Rs 350/kg (local) while the rate for mutton is fixed at Rs 600.
Sarulia Bazar, Dhaka and Gaosia Haat in Narayangong, another two prime market places, have also quoted identical rates.
Meanwhile, giving an insight into the improved domination, Border Security Force (BSF) sources informed that compared to more than 10,000 cattle seized last year from Dhubri, Coochbehar and Falakata areas, this year, already more than 11,000 cattle have been seized in the first six months itself.
Reacting to the latest trend, a Dhaka-based journalist of Bangladesh Television Shahdab Yasir Chinu informed that compared to those legally brought to Bangladesh, the percentage of smuggled cattle is very high.
�Now that vigil along the border has been tightened further, it has directly affected the beef market here in Bangladesh. Beef is by far the most preferred food in the entire country,� he said.
A BSF official said that improved vigil along the border has yielded positive results and the number of cattle seizure has also increased.
�Effective use of non-lethal weapons like pump action gun, dye marker and stun grenade has resulted in putting a tab on cattle smuggling to a large extent,� he added.
