Manama: Effects of the recent meat subsidy cuts continue to be felt across Bahrain’s main markets as sales stay stubbornly low.
Butchers in Manama say that they are struggling to sell what little they do buy from Bahrain Livestock Company, while a total boycott on red meat at Muharraq Central Market is now well into its second week.
Veteran butcher Ali Abu Jaber, who has a stall at Manama Central Market, told the GDN that meat sales there continue to disappoint.
“Myself and the other butchers are now not buying sheep at all, is just isn’t worth it,” he said.
“We now buy half a cow each, which is about 40 or 50kg and some are only buying a quarter, while some are not buying any meat at all.”
According to Mr Abu Jaber, consumers were refusing to accept the new post-subsidy prices, which have more than tripled in some cases.
“I bought 50kg (of beef) and sold just 15kg of it,” he said.
“What am I supposed to do with that? How am I supposed to stretch that money?
“It is nothing and the remaining meat that we can’t sell is counted against us and we’re in the red.”
Chicken is less of an issue, the butcher said, as the price increase has been less noticeable and shoppers have the option of buying frozen or from Saudi Arabia.
“Even Bahraini chicken, going up to BD1.400 from BD1 can be absorbed, but the (red) meat isn’t wanted at this price increase,” he said.
“If salaries were high as they are in the UAE and Kuwait, maybe people would accept it but they don’t have good
salaries here.
“It’s a huge problem.”
He claimed the livelihoods of all those who worked in Bahrain’s meat markets were at stake.
“We have employees, we have families and children to provide for, we have rent to pay for our shops and we can’t do anything about it at the moment,” he said.
“We also have to think about the large labour sector here, they want to live too and also have families to support.
“We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
Following the lifting of meat subsidies on October 1, wholesale meat prices went up to BD2.850 per kilo for locally slaughtered Australian sheep, BD2.450 per kilo for frozen Australian mutton imported by air, BD3.050 per kilo for frozen mutton imported from Pakistan and Sudan by air and BD1.900 per kilo for frozen beef imported from Pakistan and Sudan by air.
The retail price of chicken has increased from BD1 to BD1.400 or BD1.500 per kilo.
Lifting meat subsidies is part of the government’s efforts to limit public spending – driven in large part by the price of oil, which has almost halved since last summer.
As a result, the country’s debt ceiling was raised from BD5 billion to BD7bn last November so that the government could borrow further.
Reducing subsidies – which cost the government BD935 million in total last year – is seen as a key way to make national savings.
Other expected subsidy cuts set to be introduced in phases over the coming years include those on electricity, water and petrol.
laala@gdn.com.bh
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