HYDERABAD: Mutton prices have surged to a record high in the last few weeks amid the Covid-19 crisis. Consequently, the State Civil Supplies Department officials have asked meat shop owners to put a cap on the soaring mutton prices. Attributing the price hike to shortage of cattle in the market due to the lockdown, city mutton traders claimed that they would incur heavy losses if they didn’t increase the rates.
At present, the price of mutton in Hyderabad is `1,100 per kg.
Last week, it was `800 to `900 per kg. Speaking to Express, a meat shop owner in Prakash Nagar area, said, “Generally, to cater to the needs of customers in the city, animals are brought in from the neighbouring states. But this is not possible during the lockdown.” Abdul Faheem Qureshi, president of the All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee and the State Association for Meat Traders, said, “Due to lack of supply, the prices of goats and sheep in both wholesale and retail markets have skyrocketed.
This is burning a hole in the customer’s pocket and leaving the shopkeepers with no profit margin.” He added that mutton would soon be taken off the plate if the supply chain is not secured. “The government should take steps to ensure that the cattle transporters are not stopped harassed at the borders,” he said.