Commentary: Solving the pricing puzzle of mutton in Kashmir

Setting prices for the mutton should be simple — cover costs, make a profit, and appeal to customers. But there are more variables to the mutton pricing formula than we may realize.

Arka Chakraborty

The mutton price fixation committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K. Pole, fixed the retail prices of mutton at Rs. 480 per kilogram (while the wholesale prices are fixed on Rs. 450 per kilogram), and the move was strongly opposed by representatives of mutton dealers, commissioning agents and retailers. Although the Divisional Commissioner assured that the decision has been made while taking a number of important factors (for instance: the 5-7% annual inflation rate, the estimated meat production cost presented by the technical team of the Sheep Husbandry department) into consideration to fix the current prices.

The General Secretary, All Kashmir Mutton Dealers Association, Mehrajuddin Ganai, claimed that many factors like the increase in the wholesale price of mutton over the years, the fact that most of the mutton has to be imported and many of the sheep and goats don’t survive the journey were not noted. As the temperate climatic conditions have made mutton an integral part of the Kashmiri cuisine and the commoners in spite of their financial condition spend a large part of their earnings in purchasing mutton regularly, the price of mutton means a great deal to the common individual. This complicates the situation further as there has been for a long time a large gap between the government-fixed price of mutton and the actual prices of the same. The exorbitant price of mutton and its detrimental effect on public life, the failure of successive governments to control the price and the seeming lack of any clear ‘culprit’ in the pricing problem constitute a complex situation that must be delved into in order to make sense of the situation and hopefully find a solution.

A complex scenario

The current price-fixation of retail price for mutton is a 40-rupees-hike in comparison with the previously fixed price of Rs. 440/kg as per the decision of the mutton price fixation committee’s meeting held in 2016. This government-regulated price, along with the Divisional Commissioner’s decision to abolish the mutton price fixation committee in favour of an annual automatic price fixation system determined by the Wholesale Price Index and the promise of being more strict against retailers illegally selling meat at higher prices is a part of the current government’s effort to ensure that good quality meat is provided within a reasonable price to a consumer population which has made it an inseparable part of their cuisine. In fact, the Director, Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) Basheer Ahmad Khan has assured that 43 FIRs have already been issued against erring mutton dealers in the last one year. However, as years of failure has already demonstrated, the approach of simply fixing a price and trying to implement it without taking all possible factors into consideration seems to be flawed. In 2008, for example, mutton supply from the Delhi Mandi to J&K almost came to a standstill because of the Kashmiri mutton dealers’ protests against alleged harassment by the animal lovers and supporters of Menaka Gandhi, a former MP who had fought for the cause of animals. In that particular incident alone, the market is said to have suffered losses amounting to more than Rs. 10.5 million. In 2017, supply stopped because of the mutton traders’ strike against unfair prices fixed by the government. These are only a few of the number of such incidents that disrupted the market frequently, contributing to the frequent fluctuation of actual mutton price in the Valley. There has always been a wide gap between the government-prescribed and the actual price of mutton in J&K as the retailers and wholesalers have never found the government-prescribed ‘reasonable’ prices to be profitable. This year, the COVID-induced lockdown resulted in the complete ceasing of mutton supply to J&K from outside the Union Territory, resulting in an acute shortage of mutton and a consequent sharp rise in mutton prices, being sold at rates as high as Rs. 600/kg and Rs. 700/kg. The government claims that the retailers and wholesalers who sell mutton at more than the government-prescribed prices are simply profiteering. However, the repeated claims of the mutton trading community that they cannot survive with the government-prescribed prices and a multiplicity of factors go unnoticed while fixing them as well as their continuing to sell mutton at these high prices in spite of the very real threat of strict legal action indicate that there might be some truth to their claims. Therefore, a long-term solution regarding mutton supply, distribution and pricing has to be reached keeping all stakeholders (not just the consumers) in mind. In order to reach this solution, however, the possible causes of the problem have to be looked into in some detail.

Possible reasons behind the price rise of mutton in Kashmir

There might be a number of reasons behind the price rise of mutton in the J&K markets, but the various stakeholders in or associated with the industry seem to disagree about what these reasons are. Therefore, claims of various stakeholders across the spectrum should be seriously considered.

1. Illegal Profiteering:The representatives of the current J&K administration opine that the selling of meat above the government-prescribed price is due to the illegal and uncontrolled profiteering of the UT’s wholesale and retail meat sellers. The Div Com, Kashmir, Pandurang K. Pole said, “The annual inflation rate is no more than 5% to 7% but the trade community always inflates this rate.”  The government is trying to handle this issue very strictly as legal action has been promised against any potential profiteers. The Mutton Rate Control Act of J&K has denied the role of Commissioning Agents as stakeholders in the industry and the government is actively trying to eliminate the commissioning agents as stakeholders by issuing licenses to genuine wholesalers. Besides the government, various groups of stakeholders have actively tried to portray other stakeholders as the rel profiteers and themselves as victims. While the retailers think that the government is unfairly accusing them of profiteering, they claim that wholesalers outside the state sell mutton at much higher prices, forcing them to sell mutton at high prices back in Kashmir to just stay in business. They also blame government unit holders, who, in spite of government subsidies and aid, have failed to cater to the local market demand at government fixed prices.
2. Uneven State-level laws and corruption:During the Kashmiri mutton dealers’ protest in 2008, a number of dealers accused that money was extracted from their truck drivers at the check posts in the garb of checking the truck for overcrowding of animals. The maximum number of animals permissible vary in various states, which worsens the problem. Shamas Din, a mutton importer, said that their trucks are frequently stopped and huge amount of money is extracted from them, an amount that ultimately they, the importers, have to pay. This, naturally, affects the price of meat the consumers buy as every stakeholder has to turn a profit in spite of these uncalled-for expenses.
3. Taxes, Transport costs and Hazards involving cross-state mutton transportation:J&K is one of the major meat consuming regions in India and according to Div Com Pandurang K. Pole, only about33% of the mutton consumption demand is supplied by the UT’s domestic production. About 12o lakh kilogram of mutton is domestically reared, while about 200 lakh kilograms of mutton are imported from other states, especially Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. According to Basheer Ahmad Chopan, a mutton dealer, transporting mutton in the form of livestock from other states to J&K costs an excess amount of Rs. 70-90/kg as tax and transportation cost, an excess amount that the consumers have to pay in the end. Mehrajuddin Ganai also claimed that mutton brought from outside the UT in the form of livestock has a high mortality rate during the journey, which puts further heavy losses for the Kashmiri retailers to deal with. All this hikes up the price which the consumer has to pay.
4. Insufficient Domestic Production:Most of the above problems related to importing livestock from outside the UT. Therefore, most of these problems can be eliminated if J&K’s domestic livestock rearing can match the growing demand of its ever-increasing population. Although the region’s livestock population has increased in the past few years, the growth rate is too slow to eliminate the need to import most of the required meat anytime soon. Most importantly, the problem does not seem to be limited to the insufficiency of livestock production. During the recent COVID-induced lockdown in J&K, a number of meat sellers confessed that the prices were hiked up because domestically produced meat was actually costlier than imported meat, even after the arbitrary value addition to the latter due to the hazards mentioned above. This is shocking information that suggests that the complete replacement of imported livestock by domestic livestock in J&K might actually worsen the condition for traders, consumers and all other stakeholders due to the latter’s high price. The solution to the frequent meat crises of J&K, therefore, lies in substantially increasing the amount of domestic livestock while bringing down the production cost and keeping the quality of the meat intact.

Challenges in Jammu and Kashmir’s Livestock sector

Livestock rearing, especially sheep and goat husbandry is one of the principal professions of rural J&K (about 73% of the UT’s total population). Sheep rearing is especially popular among migratory farmers and poorer sections of the population (ex. Gujjar, Bakerwal, Chopan, Gaddie and Changpa) as it provides nutritional security and insurance during crop failure, thereby becoming the ‘finance elevator’ for the countryside’s poor farmer. Wool, apart from meat, adds value to sheep rearing. J&K’s agroclimatic condition (sub-tropical and temperate zones), geophysical conditions (presence of high mountains and low hills), rich alpine and subalpine pastures and meadows make the UT the ideal place for sheep rearing. J&K is, according to the latest livestock census of 2012, 6^th in the country in terms of sheep population (3.2 million) and 2^nd in terms of wool production. Apart from the six native breeds of sheep in J&K i.e. Gaddi, Gurez, Bhakarwal, Poonchi, Karnah and Changthangi, various exotic genetic resources have been brought in the form of Rambouillet, Dalten Merino, Merino, Corriedale, Polworth, Somalia, South Down Soviet Merino etc. to increase wool and mutton production both in terms of quantity and quality. While the sheep production has seen a slight increase over the years, however, goat population has remained stagnant since 2007 (the population in 2007 was 22.60 lakhs while the last recorded population as per the 2011-12 livestock census had only increased to 23.04 lakhs). Even between 2003 and 2007, while the sheep population witnessed a sizable increase of 8%, the goat population increased only by 0.4%. The goat, also known as the “poor man’s cow” is traditionally reared in J&K by groups like Changpas, Bakerwals and Guddies. The commonKashmiri goat has a poor growth rate. Therefore, the erstwhile state government had taken the initiative of bringing in the foreign genetic material in the form of the Alpine goat, the Toggenburg and the Boer goat.

In spite of the government’s efforts to increase the livestock yield by bringing in foreign genetic resources and crossbreeding, the intended result has not been achieved so far. This is because of various problems that haunt the sheep and goat keepers of J&K.

A study on the condition of livestock production in Gurez sub-valley of Kashmir suggests that shortage of feed and fodder due to fragmentation of pastures and resultant smaller landholdings, shorter growing seasons, loss of access to important pastures due to security concerns because of the area’s proximity to the line of control is the principal reason behind the decreasing population of livestock per household in the sub-valley. The study also points out migration to cities and the villagers’ shifting to other, seemingly more lucrative means of livelihood like government services, defence related services and employment under the MGNREGA scheme and the resultant shortage of labour as another major cause of the decline of livestock rearing in the area.

Lack of feed and fodder naturally results in the farmer-pastoralist to buy the same for his livestock, which puts an extra economic burden on his shoulders that previous generations did not have to face. In fact, an analytical study of livestock in J&K shows the high cost of feed as one of the major constraints faced by the farmers. The study also pointed out the lack of guaranteed price of milk, low yield and lack of a cooperative network as some of the other reasons behind the farmer-pastoralists’ difficulties. However, the most shocking information the study revealed was the lack of knowledge regarding essential details of livestock rearing among the livestock producers. For example, according to the survey that the researchers had conducted, only 30% of the respondents had knowledge of balanced feed, 28.33% knew about how to make silage, 11.66% had knowledge of disposal of animal waste and only 20% had knowledge about vaccination of livestock.

While crossbreeding is very prevalent in the livestock sector of J&K (according to the Handbook of Right to Information, 2009, about 60% of J&K’s sheep population is crossbred), the main focus of crossbreeding always seems to have been focused on wool production, as a result of which wool production has seen substantial growth and success in the UT. However, the same kind of focus has not been shown in mutton production, which has resulted in slower growth for the same.

Goat rearing, according to the Handbook of Right to Information (2009), has its own problems. Restriction of grazing areas due to security reasons, lack of effective breeding policy, lack of specific Goat Development programmes and the haphazard slaughtering of goats due to the ever-increasing demand for mutton seem to be the major reasons behind the relatively subdued goat population over the last few years.

Lack of proper healthcare for the livestock contributes to the increased mortality rate of the same in J&K. A practicing Veterinarian pointed out how the government dispensaries under the Animal and Sheep Husbandry departments are bound by orders to treat specific kinds of livestock, while veterinarians are trained in handling all kinds of livestock and producing feed and fodder. At block and village levels, there is a lack of veterinarians. Quick diagnosis and feedback mechanism which is key in animal healthcare, seems to be absent.

Recommendations

There should be a two-pronged approach in bringing down the costs of both imported livestock and domestic livestock production. Some of the steps that the government can take are as follows:

1. The main focus of the administration should be to slowly increase the amount of domestically produced mutton in the market. Mandis should be established in the UT to regulate the internal buying and selling of mutton.
2. The claims made by the local mutton dealers should not simply be discarded as excuses for profiteering, but should be investigated. Profiteers have to be punished, but there should be a concentrated effort in curbing cross-state corruption by officials to end the suffering of the mutton transporters.
3. There should be a uniform law across the country regarding the number of animals permissible in specific vehicles. This will make the livestock transporters’ lives easier as well as the business.
4. When it comes to domestic livestock production, a number of steps have to be taken. The principle step will be aimed at ensuring cheap feed and fodder supply to all farmer-pastoralists and the availability of green, open pastures. Research efforts in developing healthy fodder from agricultural waste should be commercialised. Silvi-pasture management should be applied in increasing fodder resource. Complete feed blocks and feed and fodder conservation should be realized to sustain productivity. New, short-duration fodder varieties with higher biomass yield should also be introduced.
5. Grazing has to be regulated and new pastures have to be made accessible.
6. Goat Development Schemes have to be introduced and planned breeding has to be adopted in order to increase the stagnant goat population.
7. An array of improvements have to be made in the animal health care sector, including the employment of an adequate number of trained veterinarians, a more intensified role of veterinarians in general in livestock production, the availability of field-based diagnostic kits (PPR, sheep pox) and regular vaccination.
8. Most importantly, the traditional farmer-pastoralists have to be made aware of the best practices in livestock rearing, as the analytical study mentioned above has clearly shown. Training programmes should be conducted across the countryside and livestock rearers should be strongly encouraged to join. These programmes can be conducted by a number of appropriate professionals, including trained veterinarians.
9. As people are increasingly leaving the livestock sector, the government should start giving incentives to farmer-pastoralists in order for them to view livestock rearing as a lucrative profession and stick to the same. The government is already going in the right direction in this regard by popularizing the Mini Sheep Farms.

Conclusion

The scarcity and frequent crises regarding the availability of mutton in J&K has a complex story behind it. The sector clearly has immense potential and the opportunity to generate employment in a significant manner. Therefore, both the internal and external threats to the sector have to be dealt with in a calculated manner. Many Centrally Sponsored Schemes have the potential to solve the problem partially but the UT administration has to see the problem in its entirety and come up with a multi-dimensional, holistic solution for the same. The solution to the region’s mutton crisis is undoubtedly a process that might take years to achieve. For now, however, the crisis remains, and some of the local residents are open to trying healthier vegetarian options this winter. In fact, it seems that the vegetable markets are the only beneficiaries in this situation.

References

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