Srinagar: With no letup in a tussle between the government and mutton dealers over the rates, Kashmir’s mutton industry has suffered a cumulative loss of 400 crore rupees in the past four months.
The dealers opine that the marginal loss on daily basis is 3.20 crore rupees.
Talking to a local news agency, Kashmir News Observer (KNO), All Kashmir Wholesale Mutton Dealers Association (AKWMDA) president Mehraj-ud-Din said that Kashmir was consuming almost 4 crore rupees worth mutton a day.
“The mutton [Outside livestock] was being consumed at the cost of 4 crore rupees a day before the tussle, but now the meat consuming has declined by at least 80 percent,” he said, adding that in last four months, the people affiliated with the trade have suffered a marginal loss of 15 crore rupees, saying that the sale loss is too much high.
He added that only 20 percent of meat is being consumed across Kashmir on a daily basis due to the prevalent situation, which continued from November last year when the government fixed fresh rates and asked the mutton dealers to sell mutton at the rate of 480 rupees per kg.
He said that comparing the previous figure, the mutton dealers are suffering 80 percent losses per day, which is 3.20 crore rupees on a regular basis.
“From 4 crore rupees daily, the market has reduced to just 80,000,00 rupees per day across Kashmir,” Mehraj said, adding that these losses are not expected to end until and unless the rigid policy towards the mutton dealers will come to an end.
Amid the prevalent situation, the estimated sale and profit loss to the mutton dealers in a month is 96 crores rupees.
“We could have done a business of nearly 400 crore rupees during these months, but have been deprived. The losses, if we look, are very much high. We are not being pushed to the wall as our EMIs of banks and other things are being deducted with no business at all,” he said.
Notably, the government and the mutton dealers on 27 February held a meeting to discuss the issues. However, the meeting failed to end the deadlock as the mutton dealers continued to press for a hike in the rates, which was increased by the government from 480 rupees in November 2020 to 515 rupees.
Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Bashir Ahmad Khan wasn’t available for the comments. (KNO)
