ban on trading cattle for slaughter
Sirajuddin Qureshi
Rajiv Jaisinghani
Karan Tanna
JSM Corp
Jay Singh
Darshan Foods
Arpan Sharma
All India Jamiatul Quresh
Restaurants hit in June quarter as prices of meat rise by 45 per cent due to ban on cattle trading
While supplies fell by about 75 per cent, prices shot up by 30-45 per cent, according to restaurants, fresh trade suppliers and processed food companies selling lamb, mutton and bacon. Ratna Bhushan&Madhvi Sally | ET Bureau | July 18, 2017, 07:13 IST
So, apart from Aadhaar-style identity tags, should our cows also be given CIO cards, denoting Cattle of Indian Origin, to distinguish them from illegal migrants?
NEW DELHI: The ban on trading cattle for slaughter hit the restaurant business during the previous quarter, with supplies of meat and meat-related food curtailed and prices on the rise, restaurateurs and traders said.
While supplies fell by about 75 per cent, prices shot up by 30-45 per cent, according to restaurants, fresh trade suppliers and processed food companies selling lamb, mutton and bacon.
Still, many restaurants held prices for customers to encourage the trend of eating out, which is starting to show signs of recovery.
"The supply chain was erratic in the quarter and we did not want to disappoint customers by not serving regular food items on our menu. Constraints on the supply chain were among the factors that impacted the industry in the April-June quarter," said Rohan Jetley, chief executive officer of casual dining chain TGI Fridays.
"Supplies did get impacted for sure. There has been a degree of uncertainty in the past few months," said Jay Singh, executive director at JSM Corp, which runs California Pizza Kitchen and Shiro.
He said JSM kept prices unchanged at its restaurants, including Hard Rock Café, known for its meat burgers. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017, on May 23, about five months after the draft was put out for feedback.
The rules restrict sale of cattle for slaughter. While the ban has been stayed by the Supreme Court, industry officials said it could take a quarter for trade channels to return to normal.
"For restaurants which have long-term contracts with suppliers, the losses had to be borne by their trade partners," said Rajiv Jaisinghani, managing director of Darshan Foods, which sells frozen processed meats under the brand Meatzza.
Leading traders said they would take up the matter with government authorities. Sirajuddin Qureshi, owner of New Delhibased Hind Agro Industries and president of All India Jamiatul Quresh, an association of meat traders, said: "The court has ordered a three-month stay on the Centre's rules banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter. What after that? We will be meeting the environment minister Harsh Vardhan to take up the issue."
"With Ramadan and Eid last month, along with the ban, the supply was very tight. We expect demand to stabilise over the next three months," said Karan Tanna, founder of Yellow Tie Hospitality, which operates 18 stores of fine dining chain Genuine Broaster Chicken.
He said the constraints on meat supply led to a steady increase in the demand for chicken, which saw prices go up 15 per cent as a direct consequence.
According to Qureshi, prices of buffalo meat increased by 30 per cent to Rs 250 a kg in the April-June quarter. Transporters of animals, too, faced threats. "While demand for sheep and goat went up, so did prices by 25 per cent over the past three months. Prices are currently at Rs 500 a kg," he said.
Mohammad Atiq, a goat trader at the Ghazipur mandis who supplies to the Taj Hotels, Oberoi Group and Radisson Hotels, said arrivals from Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had been slow.
"We expect arrivals and consumer demand to pick up by August end," he said. "Since prices of chicken went up, we didn't pass on the increase in prices for other processed products like sausages, ham and salami," said Manan Suwal, VP, operations, at Gurgaon-based Ample Foods, which sells pork and chicken under the Prasuma brand.
He said he expects a "correction" by August-September. According to Arpan Sharma, director of the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations, the dairy industry has been impacted, too.
Tags : Food & Entertainment, Food Services, ban on trading cattle for slaughter, Sirajuddin Qureshi, Rajiv Jaisinghani, Karan Tanna, JSM Corp, Jay Singh, Darshan Foods, Arpan Sharma, All India Jamiatul Quresh