The trail drive begins

The Dashain festival is here again. And as usual, people are preparing to have a good time with their family members. For many Nepalis, the annual festival is the time to cut goats and buffalos and gorge on meat curry and other preparations. People party for a week regardless of their economic background.  

There are no reliable statistics on the total meat consumption in the country, but animals are often slaughtered on a massive scale. Many people have been fattening goats at their homes to be sacrificed during Dashain.

“Nepal’s booming middle class is driving the demand for meat,” said Tulsi Ram Gautam, an expert in the field. With rising disposable incomes, meat consumption is increasing significantly. “Before meat would have been seen on special occasions only,” added Gautam. “The new generation is cool with eating meat.”

An Asian Development Bank report entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class shows that 23 percent (6.1 million) of Nepal’s population belongs to the middle class. But Dashain is a festival when people from every class slaughter goats and buffalos which gives rise to demand for these animals. The UN Food and Agriculture Organi-zation (FAO) in 2000 put Nepal’s per capita intake at 10.1 kg from 6.1 kg in 1961. People in the developing world eat 32 kg of meat per year on average, compared to 80 kg per person in the industrial world.

As per the Ministry of Agriculture Develop-ment, meat production in the country reached 295,341 tonnes (excluding imports) in the last fiscal year, which translates into a per capita meat consumption of 11.14 kg.  Buffalo meat accounts for 59 percent of Nepal’s total meat production, with around 175,000 tonnes of buffalo meat sold annually. Goat and chicken meat follow with 18.81 percent (55,583 tonnes) and 14.59 percent (43,112 tonnes), respectively. Of the total demand, 6.33 percent (18,709 tonnes) is fulfilled by pork meat. Fish production increased by 3 percent to 57,515 tonnes, while egg production grew 4.69 percent to 8.38 million units in 2012-13.

In the last 10 years, the goat population in Nepal increased 40 percent to 9.186 million head. But production has not matched the growth in the goat-eating population. The result is evident when it comes to goat imports. The ministry’s figures show that meat production in the last fiscal year rose a mere 2.62 percent. Most of the country’s goat requirement is fulfilled by India. “More than 85 percent of the goat requirement is met by imports from India,” Gautam said, basing his assumption on his survey conducted three years ago. In 2011-12, Nepal imported 1.181 million head of goats worth Rs 991.53 million.

“A low productive capacity is the major reason why Nepal’s dependency is increasing on meat imports,” said Gautam. “Though goat meat is widely consumed during the Dashain festival, chicken is a favourite meat for many Nepalis,” said Deepak Thapa, president of the Nepal Livestock Traders Association. The rapid rise of the domestic poultry market is a good indication of changing diets.

Election to swell demand

While Dashain is an annual festival when a large number of animals are slaughtered, the Constituent Assembly (CA) election scheduled for Nov 19 could increase demand for meat notably.  Experts said the meat market would boom when poll fever intensifies across the country and cash in the millions starts flowing into the economy.  “The sale of animal meat has risen with the festival,” said Nepal Food Corporation Deputy General Manager Indra Prasad Sitaula.

State-owned NFC, which plans to supply 3,400 goats in the Kathmandu valley for the festival, said that goats were not easily available in many part of the country except in some towns like Nepalgunj and Lahan. In a number of districts, goat sales have been restricted.  “We don’t know why, but the district administration may be fearing a short supply of goats in those areas.”  

Traders said that the supply of goats in rural areas could rise immediately after the Dashain festival due to demand created by the election campaign. Volunteers and activists belonging to various political parties will need to be fed, and the requirement for goats and buffalos is going to jump.

“The Kathmandu valley has been receiving 8,000-9,000 live goats daily since Wednesday for Dashain,” added Thapa. Demand is expected to pick up from Sunday. “The election campaign will add pressure on goat suppliers in all parts of the country immediately after the end of the festival.”