The government rejected a proposal to import approximately 200,000 tonnes of cattle meat to protect the domestic livestock sector. The Department of Livestock Services opposed the proposal, expressing concerns about hindering local market growth. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock forwarded the commerce ministry’s letter to the DLS for assessment.
The DLS raised concerns about potential biosecurity risks and the impact on domestic meat production. Bangladesh has achieved self-sufficiency in cow, goat, and sheep production, with 68,777 registered cattle farms, 42 buffalo farms, 8,953 goat and sheep farms, and 86,280 poultry farms. The livestock population includes 24.8 million cows, 0.15 million buffaloes, 0.38 million sheep, 26.9 million goats, and 380 million poultry birds.
The country produced 8.71 million tonnes of meat against the national demand for 7.60 million tonnes in the last financial year. Meat production has increased sevenfold in the last 14 years. Bangladesh exports meat to several countries and has initiated a disease-free zoning project to eliminate foot and mouth disease and peste des petits ruminants from local cattle.
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