BUTCHERS yesterday defended recent increases in the price of meat, saying they were due to slaughterhouses increasing their fees and were not as steep as claimed.
They were responding to figures published in yesterday’s Politis, which claimed the price of meat was on the up, having by as much as 27 per cent in some cases. The increase in the slaughter price of pork is 2.7 cents per kilo, whereas the increase in the retail price is 19 cents per kilo, the paper claims, while the retail price of beef has gone up by 48 cents per kilo when compared to the slaughter price rise of 2.6 cents per kilo.
But Costas Livadiotis, President of the Butchers’ Association, was furious at the figures released yesterday. “The media are crazy about what they write – this is a very big mistake. This is Cyprus, so journalists write whatever they feel like.”
He insisted that meat prices had not risen by more than five per cent over the past two years, with the wholesale price of beef, now £1.90, compared to £1.60 two years ago.
Pork, the most popular meat, making up 70 per cent of all products sold in butcher shops, has actually come down in price, according to Livadiotis. “Pig livestock cost 65 cents per kilo a couple of years ago, whereas the price now has come down to 55 cents per kilo.”
But Livadiotis did warn of a summer increase in prices, saying that the market was driven by pork, which is undervalued at the moment. “When the tourists start arriving, prices of pork will rise, which will have a knock-on effect on other meats, which are now subsidised by pork.”
However, he added that Cypriot consumers were still getting a cheap deal, compared to the rest of Europe. “The retail price of meat in Cyprus is half that seen throughout the EU, even though wholesale prices are the same.” He said this was down to many butcheries on the island being family businesses, meaning labour costs were kept low. “Beef in England and France costs £8 per kilo, while a consumer can pay as much as £16 per kilo for lamb off the bone”.
“Cyprus has the cheapest meat in Europe, followed by countries such as Greece and Portugal.”
Petros Marcou, President of the Consumers’ Association, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail there had been a “small increase” in the fees charged by slaughterhouses, “but I need to study the figures before making any comment”. He added he would be investigating the issue.
Mr Butcher’s Meat Market, a local butchery in Nicosia, said the increase in slaughterhouse prices had come in on January 28, but in general, they did not feel that meat prices had risen significantly.
The island’s biggest slaughterhouse at Kofinou, near Larnaca, said the increase in slaughter prices was down to higher veterinary fees, rents, wages, electricity and petrol. It now costs £40 to slaughter an animal, compared with £20 in 2003.
Cypriots eat around 120 kilos of meat a year, at a cost of £327 per person. This is made up of 60 kilos of pork, 30 kilos of chicken, 20 kilos of lamb and 10 kilos of beef.
