KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Tuesday said that ineffective and inadequate meat price control mechanism had led to the sale of unhygienic meat at increased prices.
“Meat retailer and butchers exploit the consumer interest by enticing excessive profit which ultimately results in increase of meat prices. The packaged meat prices are monitored but not regulated. At most of the slaughterhouses, animal slaughtering is done under unhygienic conditions, there is a use of un-sterilised instruments without and no temperature control,” CCP released study on meat sector for public comments.
The CCP has been directed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to investigate the causes behind increasing prices of essential daily food commodities and check whether anti-competitive practices like collusion or abuse of dominance is behind price hike of commodities.
The study further states that slaughtered animals are transported without transportation chillers. “The current meat production system is traditional, inefficient, and in poor state. The meat industry has great prospects; however, not much attention has been given to enhance livestock production and meat quality,” the report said.
The CCP, in the light of the study conducted on meat industry, recommended that price control mechanism needed to be made more effective and efficient. “It is recommended that the regulatory mechanism for both price and quality should be improved and pricing of meat should be on the basis of meat quality and grading.”
It said the price regulation of the meat sold in formal sector was weak. “Government-run slaughterhouses are in a dilapidated condition and animal slaughtering is manually done under unhygienic conditions which pose severe consequences to human health. Conditions of slaughterhouses in the private sector are better; therefore, the CCP recommends that there should be public-private partnership to run the government abattoirs,” the CCP said.
“Also, there are financial constraints to enter this sector; therefore easy access to credit must be available to farmers at small as well as at corporate level to improve livestock production and enhance quality meat availability in the meat market.”
The CCP findings said that meat quality was a key issue that needed attention of the district livestock office comprising veterinary doctors and health officials. The district livestock departments need to be more efficient and become more effective, it added.
It also recommended the government to train farmers at grassroots level where most of the meat production takes place. “Small workshops should be conducted in villages to train rural farmers on animal breeding, disease control, feed and fodder and animal sale.
It also noted that animals were being smuggled to neighbouring Afghanistan. “Export of animals should be limited as meat is an essential food item and the government must ensure its availability at affordable price to domestic consumers. This is an issue highlighted by the association of meat retailers for higher domestic meat prices,” said the CCP.
The CCP recommended the government to ensure that information failure was reduced or eliminated in meat market. “The supply of information in meat market can be increased if the government asks the meat retailers to provide accurate information about their meat products.”