Srinagar, Jan 24: Dispelling concerns of price hike just ahead of Ramadhan, the All Kashmir Butchers Union on Saturday announced that mutton would continue to be sold at the existing prices.
Mutton and other meat product prices in J&K do not fall under the control of Legal Metrology or any other department, making self-regulation and market forces the only regulatory mechanisms.
The union firmly denied rumours of a hike to Rs 750-Rs 800 per kg. In a statement issued here, it assured consumers that the rate would remain fixed at Rs 700 per kg throughout the holy month of Ramadan and the Eid-ul-Fitr festival.
The union dismissed reports of a price surge and called these ìunfoundedî.
It also highlighted the external pressures on supply chains.
The union accused Punjab authorities of imposing ìillegal levies on livestock trucksî while passing through check posts.
It said that ìthe Madhopur cattle fair and grazing taxî was an unfair tax which was impacting their business, stressing that it inflates the costs at which the mutton reaches Kashmir.
The Madhopur cattle fair refers to livestock trade activities and checkpoints around Madhopur in Punjab.
It is a key transit point for trucks transporting sheep and other livestock from Punjab and other states to Kashmir.
Under the Punjab Cattle Fairs (Regulation) Act, 1967, the state regulates cattle fairs and markets.
Fees or taxes may apply for livestock trade, sales, or transit.
However, Kashmiri mutton traders have alleged that illegal levies or ìcattle fair taxesî ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per truck is levied.
The union has been described as ìextortionî.
Earlier, it had approached the J&K government to intervene diplomatically on this matter.
Despite this constraint, the Mutton Association has urged consumers to purchase mutton only at the fixed rate of Rs 700 per kg.
The J&K government lacks the legal authority to directly control or cap mutton or other livestock prices.
In 2023, the J&K administration revoked the J&K Mutton (Licensing and Control) Order of 1973.
This ended 50 years of direct price regulation and licensing for mutton and other livestock products.
The deregulation shifted pricing to market forces.
There is no mechanism for the government to impose rates. The tradersí associations and unions have the sole power to manage rates.
Factors like transportation costs and supply disruptions affect prices.
Kashmir Valley consumes around 22 lakh sheep annually, about 2.1 million kg of mutton.
Roughly 70 percent of this is imported from other states.
