Işık: People cannot afford to buy meat
A FRESH spat broke out between a consumer rights group, butchers and livestock producers this week over claims that the price of meat has gone up ahead of the New Year.
Hasan Yılmaz Işık, head of the TRNC Consumers’ Association, said people could “no longer afford to buy meat” because of recent price rises — although he did not say how much they had changed.
A retail trade source said yesterday lamb joints were selling at up to 54TL a kilo, fillet steak at 99TL a kilo and beef and other steak at 49TL to 58TL — up from 40TL a kilo in some stores when the price row first surfaced in May.
Mr Işık said this week shoppers also lacked confidence in the quality of the meat on sale because of concerns over meat smuggling from South Cyprus or cheaper meat being passed off as more expensive cuts.
He claimed “60 per cent” of meat sold as veal was in fact beef, according to “information” passed on to his organisation.
He said he would be “monitoring” meat prices over the coming weeks and would “take up the issue with the new government” following next month’s general election.
Livestock Breeders’ Union chairman Mustafa Naimoğulları said his members were in a “very difficult spot” because of the “very high cost” of their “input” and cash-flow problems.
He called on the state to “take measures” to reduce their costs.
Mr Naimoğulları said the number of cows in the TRNC had gone down from 80,000 to 60,000 and blamed a “lacking of planning” for the demand for meat.
He said consumer meat prices were “different at supermarkets and butchers” and said that a body should be set up to “balance out prices”.
He said the price of meat “went up every New Year” and then “went down again” — a view shared by Sheep Farmers’ Union chairman Alpay Orhan.
Mr Orhan also said the costs of producing livestock “were known” and that meat prices were “going to go up because of this”.
He said consumers on tight budgets should purchase goat meat as an alternative to beef and lamb.
Butchers’ Union chairman Halil Akbıçak said any recent price rises were “seasonal” and based on a question of “supply and demand”.
He said higher demand for lamb for the New Year had led to a fall in the livestock population.