Significant Drop in Beef Prices in Harare Supermarkets
ZIMBABWE - The time of suffering and payment through the nose for steaks and roasts could soon be coming to an end for beef lovers.
31 January 2018
2 minute read
Beef prices have been increasing within the last few months and have most recently hit rates high enough so as to inspire steak thefts across several supermarkets.
According to a survey by the Daily News, abattoirs and supermarkets in Harare have suggested a significant rise in the price of beef and beef products, in some instances by as much as 35 per cent.
Commercial beef, for instance, peaked at $7/kg last month during festivities and then dropped to $4.50/kg across several abattoirs in Harare. Briskets, T-bones and ribs, on the other hand, are now selling at $6/kg, dropping by 33 per cent from $9/kg in December.
Fillet and rump - prime beef products - are being sold at $8.50, down from the astronomical peak during December where prices stood at $11/kg, indicating a drop of 22 per cent.
Given the fact that beef prices have been climbing steadily since 2017, this is quite a turnaround.
Sifelani Jabangwe, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, told the Daily News: "There have been widespread consultations coordinated by the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) to try and resolve issues that had been causing the increase of beef prices.
"These interventions were carried out throughout the entire value chain and we basically looked at the issues of fuel prices, inadequate stock feed such as soya and a number of issues that have been affecting the prices.
"There was a cocktail of measures that were introduced along the entire value chain involving farmers, producers of stock feed, abattoirs and the retailers.
"Thankfully, those measures are now reflected in the consumer cost."
Daily News reports that the drop in beef prices does not mean that the meat is actually cheap. But there has been a decrease after reaching record highs and in the grand scheme of things, it is understandable that many consumers feel that most beef cuts remain quite costly.
Only when compared to the exorbitant prices a few months ago, beef prices appear to be cheap.
TheCattleSite News Desk
