Legal notice seeks withdrawal of beef import restrictions to cut prices
Supreme Court lawyer Mahmudul Hasan Mamun has asked the government to act within 15 days, arguing that imports could bring retail beef prices down to Tk250 per kg.
A legal notice has urged the government to lift restrictions on live cattle and packaged halal beef imports, claiming the move could bring retail beef prices down to Tk250 per kg and ease food inflation.
Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun, a Supreme Court lawyer, sent the notice to secretaries of the cabinet division, the commerce ministry, the fisheries and livestock ministry, director general of the Department of Livestock Services, chairman of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and the National Board of Revenue, in the public interest today (11 October).
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The notice asked the authorities to take necessary measures within 15 days in this regard.
According to the notice, beef is currently selling for Tk780-850 per kg in Bangladesh, making it almost impossible for poor and low-income groups and contributing to nutritional deprivation.
Referring to the economic theory of comparative advantage, the notice argued that cattle production costs in Bangladesh are high because of shortages of grazing land and animal feed.
It said countries with surplus production and abundant grazing land can produce beef at lower costs, and claimed that allowing imports from those countries could bring prices in Bangladesh down to around Tk250 per kg.
The notice alleges that import restrictions intended to protect the interests of a small group of farmers or animal-feed syndicates were limiting people's access to affordable meat and infringing on their constitutional rights.
It warned that a public interest writ petition would be filed with the High Court if the authorities failed to act within the stipulated period.
