According to dealers, mutton could soon become a luxury item.
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Mumbaikars were just about coping with a surge in onion prices when red meat became costlier by Rs 100 per kg. The sudden spike in prices can be attributed to the death of goats and destruction of grazing land during floods and unseasonal rains in the past monsoon.
According to dealers, mutton could soon become a luxury item. As for customers, they say that prices were hovering around Rs 500 per kg a few days ago. Before Christmas, it had shot up to Rs 600.
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As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, dealers said that buyers from various states flocked to Deonar, which is one of the biggest in western India since the slaughterhouse here is less expensive. Nearly 20,000 to 30,000 goats from Gujarat and Rajasthan are supplied to Deonar but since the past one month nearly 70 per cent of the goats are being sold to dealers from Karnataka, Kerala and sections of rural Maharashtra.
A dealer said, "The rates in Karnataka, Telangana, Goa and Madhya Pradesh are much higher than Maharashtra, so dealers have been coming here, causing unprecedented shortage and price surge."
Shahnaz Thanawala, president of the Bombay Mutton Dealers Association, said that they have asked the state government and BMC to not allow dealers from outside Maharashtra ti buy from Mumbai. He said, "Our supply should be restricted for local consumption but the government is not paying attention to our problem. We fear the surge could hamper our business."
Last month, local consumers in Kolhapur protested against the surge in mutton prices and the district collector had constituted a committee to look into the reasons behind the high prices.
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