Ghana butchers complain of low sales of local beef

Mr Danjinma Moti, chairman of the Central Region Butcher’s Association, has disclosed that the sales of local beef in Ghana was gradually declining.

Mr Moti attributed the decline in sales to many factors including the rapid increase in the prices of cattle and transportation.

He told Ghana News Agency in an interview in Cape Coast that the prices of cattle now range from GH¢5,000 to GH¢10,000 depending on the size, as compared to the previous year when the price was between GH¢3,500 and GH¢4,000 and higher.

Mr Moti disclosed that the cow used for beef in Ghana were mostly imported from Burkina Faso hence their high prices.

“Cows from Burkina Faso are comparatively larger than the ones in Ghana so we have to purchase from our neighbors in Burkina Faso. This makes the meat produced expensive because the cedi keeps depreciating faster than the CFA”, he complained.

“Generally sales are very appalling, especially when we expect better sales as Christmas is fast approaching ” he stressed.

He told the GNA that lately beef was being imported in boxes from abroad at cheaper prices and this has largely affected the sale of local ones.

Interestingly, the exotic ones do not taste as good as the local ones and this is known by a few who prefer the local ones regardless of the price, he explained.

“I do not expect this year’s Christmas sales to be great because an observation of recent sales gives me no room for high hopes” he further noted.

Source: GNA