Meat sellers warn of strike in Ramazan if raids on their businesses continue

An association of meat sellers has warned that if raids on their businesses, arrests of meat sellers and imposition of fines on them are not stopped, they will be compelled to close down their businesses indefinitely in Sindh.

“We are being compelled to sell beef, mutton and other types of meat on prices, which werefixed six years back. Now raids are being conducted on our businesses, shopkeepers are being arrested and heavy fines are being imposed. If this practice is not stopped, we would stop selling meat in the month of Ramazan”, warned Sikandar Iqbal Qureshi, general secretary of theMeat Merchants Welfare Association on Tuesday.

Addressing a news conference along with other members of the association, he said the price of everything had increased manifolds during the last six years, and due to the smuggling of livestock to Afghanistan and Iran, the prices of cows, bulls, goats, sheep and lambs and other animals had also soared many times.

Qureshi said that the provincial government was also issuing licences for the export of meat, due to which exporters were buying livestock at increased prices. He added that in these circumstances, providing meat at the prices fixed by the government was not possible.

“If authorities are so concerned about meat prices, they should provide livestock to us at subsidised rates so that we could sell meat at prices fixed by them,” he demanded and warned that if the harassment continued, they would be compelled to close down their businesses indefinitely.