Beef at Tk 580 a kg, about Tk 100 below the market: 4-5 cattle a day, 8-10 on Fridays

From the start of Ramadan beef in Bogura town would not sell below Tk 700-720 a kg. In that period a 60-year-old trader at the Kadamtali CNG stand junction in Gabtali had been selling beef at Tk 580 a kg for about a year. The price was Tk 500 at first, rose to Tk 550 as demand grew, and then to Tk 580 under pressure from lease-holders. At nearby Bagbari bazar the same meat sold for Tk 680. He has been selling meat for nearly two decades. He used to have a shop at Bagbari bazar, but last year he fell into a dispute with the lease-holder over toll, which was demanded at Tk 4,000 for each cow slaughtered. He was forced to move to the Kadamtali junction. There he sells four or five cattle a day, and eight to ten on Fridays. He picks his cattle carefully from several haats, including Tarani haat, Mahasthan haat, Sonatola college haat and Dakumara haat. He has five assistants, and his college-student son sits at the shop between classes. Because resellers who bought in bulk to sell elsewhere left retail customers turned away, the shop now sells at most 30 kg and at least 100 g to one buyer. His son says people on low incomes cannot afford meat at Tk 700 a kg, which is why they sell cheaper. The upazila executive officer says lease-holders have no authority to stop anyone selling at a low margin outside the haat area. The report gives no figures for costs or profit.