A decade ago Chitral market used to be quite balanced in terms of demand and supply with respect to livestock. Of course money was not so depreciated at that time but the major reason was successful trading by our Afghan brothers who used to let the market decide the prices of livestock.
However, with the return of Afghan traders to their native homeland after USA intervention, the local market of Chitral faced few challenges with regards to livestock trade. (It also affected other business sectors such as hoteling, carpet making etc).
One of the major challenges was availability of quality meat at affordable prices in the market. For a time being the market remained shaken but then it tried to regain its momentum; again by the initiatives of few Afghan traders and very few Chitrali traders in the Chitral town market. However, the prices have always been increasing and people have been complaining about unavailability of healthy cattle and quality meat in the market.
Buffaloes are brought from down country market in trucks and beef is sold to people at prices up to 280 PKR per kg. Mutton is either not available most of the times or it is not enough to meet the market demand. It is note-worthy that with regards to consumer tastes, mutton is famous in Chitral and is considered to be high quality meat. Yet the supply chain has weakened and people have to rely on beef or other sources of protein such as poultry (not so protein rich).
Recently, I visited Laspur valley and during a walk in the valley I encountered people who were bringing their livestock back from high pastures. These included goat, yak, young ox and cows. The cattle were rich with meat as they had spent months in highland pastures full of fodder. When asked, the people said that they would not afford fodder for the cattle throughout winter season and would be willing to sell them either to Chitral or Gilgit Market.
However, cattle from Ghizer and Ishkaman would easily reach Gilgit market and buyers from Gilgit are hardly expected to come to Laspur Valley. The herders said that they have not seen local butchers or other buyers for a long time. It is usually assumed that the supply chain is weakened due to unavailability of livestock, transport issues and high prices. However, if we look at it from supply and demand perspective, the market forces are not active enough to determine the right price and strengthen the market.
The buyers from Chitral Town and Booni can easily reach out to the supplier in the valley (and other valleys such as Broghil). As winters are coming, this would be the perfect time for buyers to bargain in a better position. Some might argue transportation as an issue but it was never an issue when Afghan traders were doing the same business. They even used to provide cattle from cross border. They used to walk throughout District Chitral to buy or sell the livestock.
Secondly, roads to Laspur valley is in a much better condition than those times. Livestock sector is one of the major sectors contributing to local economy of Chitral. In some major valleys, there is enough livestock to meet the market demand and it is very unwise to go to down country and bring buffaloes in trucks. Even in case of beef, meat of Yak is famous for its richness and taste and Laspur as well as Broghil valleys can easily meet the market demand.
The important thing is to realize the potential, opportunity and create linkages with the market. The district government can set some flexible rules to encourage local livestock market such as directing the buyers to trade within district. The consumers can also set market trends by demanding quality meat. Using local resources to meet the market demand would be a good strategy to develop the market, serve the consumers and provide business opportunities to the local people.