Meat becomes more expensive due to lack of food for livestock

The drought and unseasonable rains are factors that have caused an increase in the price of meat that reaches the tables of the population throughout the country. This climatic phenomenon has caused a shortage of pasture and forage, essential foods for livestock grazing in eastern Bolivia.

“This year, the rain was scarce and came out of season, affecting the recovery capacity of the pastures. Without enough food, the cattle do not gain weight and that makes the entire process more expensive,” commented a specialist consulted by EL DEBER.

Every year, the climatic cycle begins with rain between January and April, and then comes drought, starting in May. This phase extends until July, moment when many ranchers begin to sell their cattle due to lack of foodwhich floods the market with thin cattle and temporarily depresses prices.

However, between January and April of this year the rains did not arrive; This translated into less availability of grass, which affected the supply of livestock suitable for consumption and fattening.

Then, between May and July, there were untimely rains that did not penetrate the land, and therefore no pasture or grains were produced, which affected the entire livestock production process.

As the holiday season approaches, demand for meat increases, pushing prices even higher. The price of lean cattle is about to rise due to the recent lack of rain, which, while helping grass, will not have an immediate effect on production.

This phenomenon affects final consumers. Currently, the price of a kilo hook – which is the price of the animal already slaughtered – has reached levels that They range between 27 and 28 bolivianosand is expected to continue rising. Another specialist consulted explained that intermediaries play a crucial role in the marketing process, because they influence the increase in the price of the product.

“Middlemen buy live cattle, take them to the slaughterhouse and, by controlling supply, increase prices,” he added.

Despite this, the underlying problem is not the intermediaries, but the lack of food and prolonged drought.

“It is not an issue of poor management, but of adverse climatic conditions that do not allow stable production. Drought affects the entire production cycle,” he stressed.

Butchers target livestock farmers due to the rise

Given the rise in meat prices, marketers of this product accused farmers of raising the price of this food. However, a few days ago the Confederation of Livestock Farmers of Bolivia (Congabol) rejected this position.

Through a statement, this organization assured that, since always, they have been “price takers” and that they have no control over the final costs of the product that reaches consumers.

The manifesto explains that the price of meat is defined by the market and that those directly responsible for the increase are the marketers, auction centers and slaughterhouses, who are accused of increasing their profit margins at the expense of consumers and producers.

Likewise, ranchers pointed out that the supply of livestock is conditioned by climatic factors, such as drought and irregular rains, in addition to high production costs, which have seriously affected the sector.

Livestock farmers maintain that while they face multiple difficulties, such as increased prices of inputs, lack of fuel and inclement weather, intermediaries maintain high profits in a very short period of time.

According to the manifesto, “Farmers need between two and three years to raise an animal for consumptionwhile marketers obtain similar benefits in a few days.”