Restaurateurs seek meat imports

An association of restaurant owners today sought permission from the government to import broiler chicken, mutton and beef to counter a rise in their prices. 

"The prices will go down only if the government allows imports," said Imran Hasan, secretary general of the organisation, at a press conference organised by the association at Police Convention Hall.

Beef sold for Tk 750 to Tk 780 per kilogramme in kitchen markets in Dhaka yesterday while mutton for Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100 and broiler chicken for Tk 175 to Tk 180, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

In the last one year, the price of beef has increased by 15.04 percent, mutton by 16.67 per cent and broiler chicken by 9.91 percent.

Owners of large-scale farms are forming syndicates to raise prices of broiler chicken and beef and this has led to a fall in sale at hotels and restaurants by 30 percent, he claimed.

The world is going through a crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war and Bangladesh is no exception, as prices of fish and meat are increasing every day, said Hassan.

"We have come to know that the government will export beef. But there is not enough beef in our country. The price of beef in our country is much higher than that in other countries. How can we go for exports?" he said.