Rotten-meat rumour causes Sunday slump in Kolkata markets

KOLKATA: With rumours of carcass meat being sold to the public doing the rounds of Kolkata, citizens have shifted their protein preference from meat to fish on Sunday. Across the city, traders reported an unusual slump in sale of meat and an increasing demand for fish, leading to surge of fish price. The slump covered all major categories — chicken, mutton, pork and beef.



“The slump is mainly because of the 50% fall in demand by restaurants and eateries. The over-the-counter sales might have dropped by 10%. If you take into account our daily sales figures, 60%-70% of it goes to restaurant and eateries while individual consumers account for 30% to 40%,” said Alauddin Gazi of Bengal Meat Trading at Netaji Subhas Road.

Chicken enjoys the highest consumption among meats in Kolkata — 2 crore kg per week. That’s why the market suffers when chicken consumption falls. “Over-the-counter sale should not have suffered as live chicken is slaughtered in front of the customer. But rumours have hit customers’ confidence,” said Bengal Poultry Federation general secretary Madan Maity.

“We are not eating chicken or mutton. The visuals of carcass meat have created an aversion to meat in my family. I am buying only live fish,” said Sumantra Banerjee, a resident of Charu Avenue.

“Even though the fish price is on the higher side, my stock of 20 tonnes was sold out faster than on other Sundays. I went home by 9am,” said Aurobindo Saha of Behala Arat.

Raj Quraishi of Al Quraishi Trading of College Street said, “The skepticism is perceptible. But we run our business on the reputation we have earned for generations. People know we won’t sell rotten mutton. But that is for our regular customers. We have10-20 flying or irregular customers, which we have lost due to the rumours.”

Sale of beef, too, has suffered a blow. “The demand for beef was a little low on Sunday. Hopefully, the police will come clear on the racket so that our trade does not get a bad name,” said Taher Ali, a Meat Merchant Association member. Anurag Jamadar, a Tollygunge Phari piggery owner, said sale of pork, the least-consumed meat among the four categories, also suffered a slump.