Beef prices fall slightly as animal supply improves

Beef prices have started falling as supply of animals to abattoirs increases following the onset of a dry spell which has forced pastoralists to release their stocks to the market.

Butchers at Burma, Nairobi’s largest meat market, are now selling a kilogramme at Sh400 from Sh420 in July.

The price had shot up from March as pastoralists were reluctant to sell their animals owing to good weather, which kept their stocks in good state and the market in short supply.

The Ministry of Agriculture said that the price of goat meat is expected to drop due to the dry spell affecting most arid and semi-arid regions.

“Goat price is expected to decline gradually in the next three months as both forage shortage deepens and distance increase to watering points,” said the ministry in the food monitoring report released in August.

Most butchers in Nairobi buy their meat from Burma market for onward retailing in estates and in town.

However, the price of meat in estate butcheries is yet to go down with most outlets selling a kilo at Sh450 on average.

According to the National Drought Management Agency (NDMA) the price of a three-year-old bull in Kajiado County recorded a two percent price reduction to sell at Sh37,600. In February, NDMA reported that a shortage of supply had pushed the price of a cow in Kajiado up by 53 percent.

These cattle-producing areas normally sell cows in plenty between November and February due to poor rains that lead to death of livestock.

However, the country experienced good rains during the period, boosting availability of fodder in the fields hence creating a shortage of supply in the market.