Value Chains research report Tajikistan final - Microfinance Centre

There are no cattle recording system in Tajikistan. Meat is brought in from rural
villages as well as imported from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan through mountain passes
with no identification of who raised the beef or where it came from. In cases of animal
disease there is no ability to trace the source and implement corrective measures
leaving the public susceptible to disease and illness. Problems of diseased meat have
occurred in the recent past. In 2008 meat infected with anthrax was found in the market
of Isfara. The disease outbreak caused deaths in several villages, including those who
bought the meat, butchers and owners of the cattle who sold it. The meat was identified
as coming from Kyrgyzstan but the initial supplier could not be identified.
If all current sanitary and hygienic regulations we implemented immediately no
meat would be available for sale, a politically unacceptable circumstance.
Consequently an intense campaign, with government support, to construct new
slaughter facilities are needed, once constructed strict enforcement of rules and
regulations applied. A main improvement needed immediately is the provision of meat
cooling and storing facilities, a major step in improving meat quality and healthfulness.
Sanitation
Strict adherence to sanitary regulations is one of the key factors in producing and
marketing quality meat. It is necessary to disinfect all equipment according to
international and local standards, a practice not currently followed. Measures such as
РН balance should be checked at slaughter, after evisceration and cooling to ensure a
healthy product. If the oxidation degree of meat has increased, it indicates that the
slaughter facilities are in poor sanitary condition.
Because of the poor and unsanitary conditions of the meat industry in Tajikistan it is
unlikely that export has any potential.
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