A record amount of meat has been bought up in Bahrain during Ramadan, it has been revealed.

The Bahrain Livestock Company (BLC) has supplied a total of 140,000 sheep carcasses this year, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

That is a 40 per cent increase on the 100,000 supplied last year and BLC vice-chairman Yousif Al Saleh speculated the surge in demand was a direct result of impending subsidy cuts.

BLC produce is directly subsidised by the government to keep prices down for consumers, leading to speculation that restaurants and hotels were now stockpiling low-priced meat.

As part of cost-cutting measures the government announced earlier this year that meat subsidies would be scrapped from August 1 and Bahraini citizens would instead receive a food allowance directly into their bank accounts.

The cancellation of meat subsidies was then postponed by a month on Tuesday following opposition from MPs.

“This year we have a record breaking number of carcasses that are going to be supplied for both Ramadan and Eid – 140,000 sheep carcasses, not to mention 5,500 carcasses of beef,” Al Saleh told the GDN.

“It (demand) has never been this high and we think it is because of the proposed subsidy cuts.

“We noticed even before Ramadan there was increased demand, especially from hotels and restaurants which were probably looking to stock up before the subsidies were cut.

“Now that the subsidies have been delayed we expect that the demand will remain high.”

In preparation for Eid, 6,800 freshly slaughtered and chilled sheep carcasses were supplied to the market yesterday and another 5,000 will be supplied today.

“All our butchers are working overtime to accommodate Eid meat demands.

“There is no shortage of meat and we have sufficient stock.

“We have 24,000 sheep in our pens.”

The plan to scrap meat subsidies is part of the government’s efforts to limit public spending, driven in large part by a halving of the oil price since last summer.

More than 80 per cent of Bahrain’s revenues comes from oil.

As a result the country’s debt ceiling was raised from BD5 billion ($13.1 billion) to BD7 billion last November so the government could borrow further.

However, reducing subsidies – which cost the government BD935 million in total last year – is seen as a key way to make national savings. - TradeArabia News Service