The government will take initiatives to bring down the price of red meat by March 15 after holding discussions with different stakeholders. Fisheries and livestock minister Narayan Chandra Chanda said this to reporters during a press briefing at the Secretariat yesterday. Chanda, however, said that Bangladesh has become self-sufficient in meat and fish production to meet people’s protein demand. “We'll try to bring down the price of red meat. The ministry will take a decision by March 15 after discussing the matter with different stakeholders,” he added.

The minister also said the price of meat has dropped by about Tk. 100 per kg in rural areas; it is now being sold for Tk. 400–450 per kg. He further said that increased production and sincere efforts of all concerned have helped the country become self-sufficient in meat and fish production.

Bangladesh, for the first time, has recorded a surplus fish production with an annual output of 41.34 lakh tonnes against a demand of 40.50 lakh tonnes. The country has also produced 71.54 lakh tonnes of meat against an annual demand of 71.35  lakh tonnes in 2016-17.

According to the National Food Production Guidelines framed by the food ministry and the health ministry, an adult should consume about 60gm of fish and 120gm of meat per day.

“An individual currently consumes 62.58gm of fish and 121.74gm of meat against the demand of 60gm and 120gm per day respectively. This has become possible due to self-sufficiency in fish and meat production,” the minister said.

The fish sector currently accounts for 3.61 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP, while the agriculture sector accounts for 24.41 per cent, he said.

According to a report from the fisheries ministry, the fish production target for 2016-17 was set at 4.05 tonnes. The production of fish was 4.13 million tonnes in 2016-17, a 53 per cent increase from the fiscal year 2008-09.

The average growth of fish production has been 5.25 per cent over the past 10 years, the minister said. “The government is trying to sustain this growth to achieve the projected target of 4.55 million tonnes by 2020-21,” he added.

In 2016, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation named Bangladesh tas he fourth largest producer of fish from inland waterbodies and the fifth largest producer of farmed fish, Chanda said. According to the Department of Livestock services (DLS), the country now has about 23,935,000 cattle.