Indians hoping to get a taste of mutton from home are finding it hard to come by after the Indian Government imposed a ban on the export of meat on the bone.
Almost a week has passed since the ban on mutton supplies from India and the stocks in the UAE are running low.
Al Tayyab, the main importer of meat into the UAE and the Gulf, said 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.
VI Saleem, the general manager of Emke Group, which owns Al Tayyab, said: "The ban will be lifted within two or three days. The department in India mistakenly included mutton in the ban. We are in negotiations with the Indian Government and the product will be available again soon." Sellers of Somali and Australian mutton have tried to cash in, with prices rising sharply.
Some butchers have even tried to pass Somali mutton off as being Indian for Dh21 per kilo.
In the same period, the price of Indian mutton has risen by as much as 30 per cent to hit the Dh21 mark.
According to market sources, Indian meat is mostly exported to the Gulf, which has a large number of Asian expatriates who prefer it to the locally slaughtered breed of sheep - Jazzeri - and other foreign imports.
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (FCA) has laid down strict rules for the sale of Jazeeri mutton.
Carcasses of Jazeeri sheep that have been slaughtered locally must have three FCA certifying stamps on each side.
Additionally, the meat has to be sold separately and is not allowed to be cubed.
By Syed Qamar Hasan
© Emirates Today 2006
