The festivities ofEid el-fitr are now over and the new focus of consumers is on Eid el-Adha From now on. Since red meat prices have fluctuated a lot lately, especially during Ramadan, many are apprehensive about the prices of sacrificial sheep.
And for good reason, these concerns are well founded: breeders and specialists in the field agree that there will be no no sheep less than 50,000 DA This year.
Eid sheep at 60,000 DA: a substantial increase expected in Algeria
Despite the authorities’ efforts to minimize inflation, meat prices red et white has undergone significant changes over the past 6 months. This was specifically the case during the holy month of Ramadan, when the kilo of red meat reached the dizzying price of 1800 DA. Ces circumstances, as well as others, have opened the debate on thee price of sheep from theEid in 2023.
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If the quantity will miss not, the prices will not be within everyone’s reach, we learn from the competent authorities. And the reasons are quite simple according to them: rising feed prices, and the drought the country is experiencing This year. Indeed, the lack of rain on the national territory has meant that the grass on which the cattle feed is no longer as abundant as before. Breeders thus find themselves having to increase their investment in food, which greatly reduces the rate of profit.
“The quintal of barley arrived at 3 000 AND. I don’t think sheep prices will go down this year. At 2 months before Eid, the breeders sell the average heads at 60,000 DA » says Ibrahim AmraniDeputy Director of the National Federation of Breeders.
Removing intermediaries, the solution to lower sheep prices in Algeria?
Another key factor influences the acquisition cost of sacrificial sheep: the presence of intermediaries in the sales process. These “resellers” increase the price by taking their margin on each head. And percentage of profit that is not controlled in most cases, resulting in completely random prizes. The profits earned by agents sometimes exceed those of breeders, causing a price imbalance that weighs mainly on the consumer.
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“The breeder gets tired taking care of the animals, providing them with food and even faces losses, so that in the end, the agent comes to make a profit greater than his own. These profits are generated on the backs of Algerian consumers” explains Mustapha Zebdipresident of theAPOCE (Association Protection and Orientation of the Consumer and his Environment).
Government intervention pour controlling the price of animals is necessary according to the latter. It is regulate profit percentages in an equitable approach vis-à-vis breeders on the one hand, and to avoid excessive fluctuations on the other.
As for the problem of rising food prices, moving towards self-production (produce food for his animals on his own soil) could well be an effective solution, according to Ibrahim Amrani.
