Meat prices in Thimphu are becoming less uniform, with shops increasingly setting their own prices. A recent study by the Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (CCAA) found significant price differences among meat shops, particularly for fresh meat. But while the study suggests stronger competition, some products are still being sold at almost identical prices, raising questions about how freely prices are being set.
For years, meat vendors in Thimphu largely followed common prices through the Bhutan Meat Vendors Association (BMVA).
The CCAA found the practice inconsistent with competition principles and directed the association to stop fixing prices.
More than nine months after the intervention, CCAA surveyed 65 meat shops across Thimphu to see whether vendors were now setting prices independently.
The findings showed a clear difference in prices, particularly for fresh meat. Local pork had the biggest gap. Prices ranged from Nu 300 to 650 per kilogramme, meaning customers could pay more than twice as much depending on where they shop.
For beef and sekam, the gap is about Nu 150 to 220 per kilogramme. For shakam, the difference is much larger at Nu 800 per kilogramme.
According to CCAA, these differences suggest that many vendors are now setting prices based on factors such as where they source their meat, their operating costs and their customers.
But the picture is different for some frozen and packaged products. Between 85 and 93 per cent of shops surveyed charged the same price for several frozen and local chicken products.
CCAA says this alone does not mean vendors are fixing prices. Packaged chicken is a standardised product and is often sold close to the supplier’s price.
The authority cautions that the survey does not capture differences in quality, freshness, cuts or portion sizes, which can explain some variations in price.
Meanwhile, CCAA has identified an area that needs closer attention. For local pork, 75 per cent of the shops surveyed were charging exactly Nu 450 per kilogramme, despite prices ranging from Nu 300 to 650.
CCAA says this could be because vendors face similar wholesale costs. But it also says the survey cannot completely rule out informal price signalling.
Overall, CCAA says its intervention appears to have had an impact, with most shops now setting their own prices. But the authority says a single survey cannot show whether this level of competition will continue.
It recommends conducting similar surveys regularly, ideally every three months and publishing comparative retail prices so consumers can compare before they buy.
Anita Chhetri
Edited by Sonam Pem
