Shortage of goats pushes up prices in Jammu region

Shortage of goats pushes up prices in Jammu region Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 5
People in the Jammu region, who were waiting for the prices of sacrificial goats to come down for Eid-ul-Azha (Bakr Eid), will have to shell out more money, as a large number of goats have been sent to the Kashmir valley.

An average goat weighing about 40-45 kg is selling around Rs 25,000 in the open market here, which is, according to the officials of the Sheep and Animal Husbandry Department, five times more than the prices fixed by the department.

“Most of the livestock has been transported to the Kashmir valley, where the consumption is much higher than the Jammu region. It may be one of the reasons of the sudden spurt in the prices of the livestock, especially of goats, in the Jammu region,” said Dr AK Koul, Director, Sheep and Animal Husbandry Department.

To a question about the reason for the livestock being sent to the Valley, Koul said, “Nearly 60 per cent of the goats in Jammu and Kashmir are imported from Rajasthan and the remaining 40 per cent are sourced from the state. Ahead of Eid, butchers from the Valley come to Kathua district, where we have an open market of the livestock, and buy goats at a higher price than offered by the meat sellers of the Jammu region. So, whosoever pays more gets the livestock. This has led to an increase in the prices of goats here.”

About the scarcity of goats in the Jammu region, Kaul said, “Goats are available in abundance in markets in Kashmir at prices cheaper than those available in the Jammu region. But we have deputed our doctors and other officials at all major markets, including Gujjar Nagar, Talab Khatikan, Ustad Mohalla and Malik Market, here so that the sale of unhealthy livestock could be checked,” he added.

He also made it clear that the department would not provide any subsidy on the goats.