Eid meat glut leaves butchers jobless

RAWALPINDI:

The surge of sacrificial meat following Eidul Azha has affected the local meat business, leaving butchers across the district out of work for nearly 25 days.

Even two weeks after the festival, most small and large butcher shops in the city remain closed.

The few that reopened found no buyers and were forced to shut down again.

Butchers had shut their shops nearly ten days before Eid. Since then, many have been unemployed, as residents continue to consume frozen meat stored in refrigerators and deep freezers.

Locals report making a variety of dishes - from curries and pulao to biryani, kebabs, and barbeque - with the stored meat, which they say will last another one to two weeks.

According to Khalid Qureshi, vice president of the Mutton and Beef Retailers Association, even hotels are experiencing a drop in meat consumption. Establishments that previously bought 10kg of meat daily are now purchasing only 4kg.

He also noted that professional beggar families collected meat door-to-door during Eid and sold it cheaply, further hurting the business of legitimate retailers.

Qureshi expects butcher shops to reopen around Thursday, July 3, once the frozen meat in homes runs out.