Updated 4pm with PN leader's comments below.
Butchers and meat importers are concerned about price hikes in meat and expect that within a month, they will have to buy wholesale meat at today’s retail prices.
“Until last December, I would buy chicken breast at €3.40 per kilo and sell it at €6.85. As from next month, I’ll be buying it at €6.50 and selling it at around €8,” a butcher explained.
“And I will still make less profit than I used to. And what if fuel and utility bills go up as well? There’s a limit to how much expenses we can absorb.”
The individuals who spoke to Times of Malta asked to remain anonymous.
One butcher said 70% of his sales come from imported meat and the rest is local produce.
He explained that local meat has not yet been as severely impacted, but fears its price will also rise when consumers shift to it and supplies run low.
“Last week, Maltese rabbit cost me €13. I’ve been told it will cost me €13.50 next week,” the butcher said.
“And Maltese chickens now cost 50 cents more per kilo than they used to at the beginning of the year.
Within a month we will be buying wholesale meat with today’s retail price
A meat importer said the price of cheese has gone up by 30% in three months and prices are rising every four to six weeks, approximately.
The meat industry is being butchered doubly at the moment. Animal feed prices are soaring because of the rising price of cereal, which is largely produced in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, meat transportation is also becoming increasingly costly due to fuel shortages.
“I fear people might begin to struggle to afford meat,” one butcher said.
“But to be honest, they don’t seem to care about the price hikes so far. Buyer patterns remained the same. There is still a feel-good factor out there.”
A meat importer said it will be a tougher game for Malta since all imports must be shipped or flown into the island. “All European countries connected to the mainland can transport goods via trucks and trains, but we cannot,” he said.
“I suggest our government joins other European islands states to pressure the EU into subsidising goods transport.”
They say prices started to climb gradually at the height of the pandemic but the Ukraine war exacerbated the problem.
Other food, goods and construction materials like iron have also seen an increase.
Grech urges immediate government action
In a statement on Facebook, PN leader Bernard Grech referred to the comments by the butchers and said the cost of living was a concern.
He said the Opposition was continuing to call on the government to tackle the issue before it impacted living standards. He suggested that the government take up the PN’s election proposal for the creation of a fund to cushion the impact of a rise in the price of imports.