Butchers fall on hard times

MQONDISI DUBE
Correspondent | Friday November 14, 2008 00:00

Selebi-Phikwe butcheries are already reeling from the effects of a council bye-law banning the grilling of meat on braai stands on the premises.

This has seen business dwindle with some small-scale butcheries forced to close.

Prices of beef shot up by more than 20 percent last week after news of the FMD outbreak in Gantsi spread and government halted cattle movement south of Dibete, leading in a scarcity of meat. Despite the easing of movement restrictions, there has been no letup in prices.

A random survey of Selebi-Phikwe butcheries showed a kilogram of beef retailing at average of P32.00 from an average of P24.00 before the outbreak of FMD.

Despite the lifting of restrictions on cattle movement and improved beef supplies, butchers here say they will not reduce their prices because cattle farmers in the region have hiked their prices.

'Cattle owners have increased their prices and it is not viable for us to reduce the retail price,' said a manager at Daily Needs Supermarket. 'Besides, it is difficult for farmers to locate their herds when it rains and we hardly get the supplies we need.'

On Tuesday, the supermarket received only one carcass instead of the six they wanted.

The manager said the suppliers had informed them most farmers could not locate their cattle, which graze far when it rains.

Although supplies have not returned to pre-ban times this week, they were expected to continue to improve with resumption slaughtering at the local abattoir on Tuesday.

The Daily Needs manager said they were likely to revise their price of P22.00/kg up, although the supply and demand situation would determine the eventual price.

Moraka Butchery has raised its price from P29.00/kg to P32.00/kg despite the situation having improved considerably from last week when the shop had run out of supplies.

Jean Van Riet of Sandy's Butchery says they reduced their prices after the supply of beef improved. Van Riet had hiked prices to P32.00/kg, up from P24.95/kg before the outbreak of FMD.

Sandy's has bulk storage facilities and the largest meat processing plant in the northern Botswana. 'The situation is back to normal for us,' Van Riet says. 'From Wednesday, we expect to have normal supplies, and we have already reduced our prices.'

While most butcheries resumed business this week, some outlets remained closed.

The council ban on braaing on the premises, rising cattle prices and the uncertainty surrounding FMD outbreaks are cited as reasons for the gloomy outlook for these.