The price of beef has increased in the Gitega market. Butchers say the cost of transportation is also high due to the lack of fuel. In addition, the purchase price of cows in the supply market has increased.
Jean Claude Niyoyitungira working in the Gitega market.
On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, around 11 a.m., reporters from the Burundi Eco newspaper arrived at the Gitega market. At the entrance to this market, an architectural work in the shape of an arch almost like a monument clearly indicates that you are at the Gitega market. Inside, customers flock to do their shopping. The area reserved for the sale of meat particularly attracts our attention. The observation is that the price of a kilo of meat has increased as is the practice in Bujumbura. The butchers explain this by arguing that the number of cows available for slaughter has decreased due to the government law on permanent stabling and the ban on straying domestic animals.
The rise in supply and sales prices
Mr. Franck, a butcher met at the market, recounts: “In the space of just one month, the price has increased by 2,000 BIF. 1 kg of boneless meat now costs 18,000 BIF, compared to 16,000 BIF previously. As for meat with bones, it sells for 13,000 BIF per kilo. This butcher also explains that the cost of transport is high. “Travel costs have increased. A transport vehicle (transville) has gone from 80,000 BIF to 300,000 BIF due to the lack of fuel.
However, on the supply market, prices have also increased. This causes the number of cows available for slaughter to decrease. “You see that there is not much meat. Previously, we sold about 30 cows, but today we can only sell between 17 and 20. The number of cows available on the supply market has therefore decreased. A local breed cow now sells for one million five hundred thousand BIF (1,500,000 BIF), while before, it sold for between 700,000 BIF and 900,000 BIF,” he added.
Jean Claude Niyoyitungira, another butcher met on site, agrees with the previous one. As for a Friesian cow, it is now sold for 5,000,000 FBu, compared to 1,500,000 FBu previously.
This increase in the price of meat also impacts people eating in restaurants in Gitega province, where prices have also increased. “A plate of pasta, regardless of the variety, with a piece of meat costs 5,000 FBu. If you add beans, the cost increases to 6,000 FBu,” said a waiter at a restaurant.
Let us recall that in a letter dated January 31, 2023 addressed to the governors of the provinces, the Minister of the Interior had asked them that the price of meat be uniform in all provinces. The price per kilo of boneless meat (umusoso) had been set at 11,000 BIF, while that of meat with bone (cangacanga) had been set at 10,000 BIF.
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