The government will not allow the import of beef considering the thriving cattle farming industry in the country, which has been contributing to a fall in youth unemployment, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday.

Beef prices started falling across the country as many consumers began to abstain from buying beef owing to higher prices.

Beef was sold for as much as Tk 850 per kilogramme (kg) in domestic markets even 15 days ago, but has been sold at Tk 600 per kg over the past fortnight as meat sellers reduced prices due to waning demand.

However, a section of market insiders alleged that the price reduction was also related to imports from India through informal channels as import of beef is not allowed through formal channels.

"Beef import will not be allowed now," Munshi said, adding that such an initiative would aid the growth of the local cattle farming industry

Even a few years ago, a large number of cows used to come to Bangladesh from India through informal channels ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. But now local cattle farmers are doing well and are supplying the required 1.25 crore cattle required for the Islamic festival, the minister said.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi poses with the participants of a debate competition on "Awareness on consumers' rights" organised by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection and Debate for Democracy, at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in Dhaka.

Munshi said many unemployed youths had started raising cattle and were making profits. For example, they invest Tk 40,000 and can make profits of Tk 7,000 within three months, Munshi said.

The minister added that egg prices started falling when local producers heard that the government had allowed the import of 15 crore pieces of eggs from India. Bangladesh consumes around 4 crore eggs daily and although only 61,000 eggs have arrived from India so far, prices domestically have already dropped.

The same happened in the case of potatoes. A group of businessmen had been making hefty profits by selling potatoes at higher prices but when the government allowed imports of the tuber, prices started falling, the minister said.

Regarding onion prices, the minister said around 30 percent of the total onions produced by domestic growers would rot due to different reasons as it is a perishable item.

Bangladesh mainly imports onions from India to bridge the gap between demand and supply but India recently set a benchmark price of Tk 90 per kg for onions and also imposed a certain percentage of duty on exports of onion.

As a result, the price of onions went up in the domestic market, he added.

Also, the decision to import onions and potatoes was delayed, mainly considering the situation of local growers, the minister said.

As for sugar, consumers can hardly enjoy the benefit of duty-reduction on imports of the sweetener because the day when the duty was cut, the exchange rate of the dollar against the taka increased by Tk 8.

As a result, the impact of the duty cut of Tk 1.5 per kg could not be enjoyed by consumers at the retail level. The duty on imports of sugar is Tk 42 per kg, he said.

The minister also blamed fallouts from the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East for the price volatility of essential commodities over the last three and a half years.

Munshi was speaking at the grand finale of a debate competition on consumer awareness jointly organised by the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection and Debate for Democracy, held at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in Dhaka.

A debate team from Comilla Victoria Government College won the grand finale while a debate team from Eden Mohila College became runners-up. The winning team received Tk 2 lakh as prize money while the runners-up got Tk 1 lakh.

AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, said consumers from low-income groups were facing difficulties due to the higher prices of essential commodities. At the same time, farmers' profits also need to be considered.

Hassan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron, chairman of the Debate for Democracy, moderated the competition.