DHAKA: Over the past five months there has been a 20% drop in cattle heads crossing the border from Indian over into Bangladesh.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officers apprehend that within a few months the influx of cows may come to a halt.
They also feel, however, that the fall in informal trade with cattle heads will bring the border killings down by 90%.
Dhaka’s beef traders say the decline in imports of Indian cows has already impacted the market. In all the retail and wholesale markets, the price of cows has gone up by 30% to 40%.
Beef prices have gone by by Tk 50 to Tk 80 per kilogram. Traders are thinking of brining in cows from Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar.
It is feared that thousands of people connected to the trade will be rendered jobless if the import of cows remains disrupted. The cattle markets around the border areas will shut down. The people living near the border will then turn to illicit trade, be it drug dealing in Phensydyl and Yaba, locals expressed apprehensions.
Tanneries will be hit hard by the fall in cow import. Leather production will be halved. Then there is the issue of protein deficiency.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and BGB, transactions of about Tk 300 crore (Tk 3 billion) takes place in this sector.
Official records state in 2014, a total of 20 lac 32 thousand (2.03 million) cattle heads came into the country. In 2013 this was 23 lac 74 thousand (2.37 million).
That means, on average about 2 lac (200,000) cows enter every month. In January this fell to 1 lac (100,000). In February it was only 48,4350. In March 44,945 cows were imported. The number in May hasn’t been ascertained as yet, but it will not be more that 20,000 said concerned officials.
The 4 February issue of the The Times of India reported that on 2 February Indian home minister Rajnath Singh visited the border area and instructed the head of BSF (Border Security Force) Ashish Mitra to put an end to cow smuggling. Since then the border security has tightened for cows.
