Beef dishes going out of favour in Palakkad; Know why?

OTTAPALAM: With buffalo meat prices climbing new highs, the number of loads of buffalo reaching the Vaniyamkulam market in Palakkad has reported a steep fall. On Thursday, 40 loads of cattle arrived at Vaniyamkulam, the popular market in the state. Of the 40 loads, only 10 loads were buffalos.

Earlier, the Vaniyamkulam market would have been crammed with buffalo meat. The price of buffalo meat here is around 340 to 400 rupees. Most of these livestock come to Kerala from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan. The numbers have now been reduced to half due to elections and cattle shortages.

Now, many dealers visit local markets in other states and purchase the buffalo at a higher price. With the decrease in farmlands in rural areas, buffaloes and other cattle breeds are now becoming rare. Yusuf Appakatil, State General Secretary of Kerala Cattle Merchant Association showed his apprehension about the beef price further surging ahead of the Bakrid in Kerala.