Cattle prices up as supply dwindles  

Dar es Salaam. The average price of a single cattle at the Pugu auction has slightly increased compared to last week, rising from Sh985,000 to Sh1.1 million, as a decline in supply has been met with high demand.

Speaking to The Citizen, acting Registrar of the Tanzania Meat Board, John Chassama, said a 200-kg cow was sold for Sh2.1 million this week, up from Sh1.9 million last week, marking a 10.89 percent increase.

A 100-kg cow was sold this week for Sh1.1 million, compared to Sh985,000 last week, reflecting a 14.21 percent increase.

However, he noted that an 80-kg cow was still sold for Sh740,000, the same as last week.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Vingunguti slaughterhouse, Michael Kamojaa, pointed out that the decline in the supply of cattle at the Pugu auction was not the sole factor behind higher prices. Rising fuel costs have also played a part.

Kamojaa explained that transporting cattle has become more expensive in recent months.

In the past, it cost between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000 to transport one cow.

However, currently, the cost has risen to a range of Sh50,000 to Sh60,000 per cow. Expensive animal feed is also to blame, as the area of free pasturelands keeps decreasing.

As a result, livestock keepers have to buy or manufacture animal feed, which has increased the price of the animals at auctions.

Meanwhile, a kilo of meat was sold at the wholesale price of Sh7000 and a retail price of Sh10,000 per kilo at the butchers’, according to Kamojaa.

He further noted that most of the cows brought for auction come from the Tabora, Shinyanga Kahama, and Morogoro regions.