The ongoing Indian mutton shortage has led to confusion among meat traders, with many different ideas put forward as the cause of the problem.
"There is huge demand for mutton in the UAE and other Gulf countries during Ramadan. The current shortage is artificially created by a group of local traders," said an official of Manama Hypermarkets and Supermarkets.
A butcher from Esa Meat Trading in Bur Dubai, which sells Indian mutton for Dh17 per kg, said: "Every year mutton prices go up during Ramadan. Now, I feel the big traders are trying to jack up the price," he added.
One leading importer of meat to the Gulf, said last week the Indian Government had banned the export of buffalo meat on the bone to help promote the marketing of the boneless variety and inadvertently mutton had also come under the ban.
And Indian Embassy sources said the ban was effected on the advice of the World Organization of Animal Health in order to control the spread of foot and mouth disease.
However, other traders gave contradictory reasons for the shortage.
Saju V Varghese, the sales manager for Farm Fresh, a leading mutton trader, said: "The ban is by Dubai Municipality, which is controlling the sale of bonein-meat. The ban is not necessarily on Indian mutton. We hope the shortage will be over soon." Dubai Municiaplity, however, denied it was involved. "We have not received any reports about the Indian mutton. We are not involved in any way in the ban or the shortage," said Khalid Sharief, Assistant Director of Public Health Department and Head of Food Control Section.
By VM Sathish
© Emirates Today 2006
