N1: Mohamed Jalal-Houdin knows his goat meat.
A1: Some people make curried goat, some people eat it chopped, some people do boneless shish kebob. . .
N1: Tonight he's buying goat at Sybal Grocery and Halal meat in Elmhurst Queens. Demand for goat is strong here, In spite of the price -- which he says is...
A2: Not that good, but fair.
N2: A shortage of supply and strong demand from customers like Houdin has driven a 50% increase in the wholesale price of goat meat over the last couple of years -- from $1.89 a pound in 2003, to $3.69 a pound today.
As an electric saw cut pieces of goat neck in the back of the store (ambient sound), butcher Ahmed Khan says that his shop sells more goat every year, even with price increases.
A3: Every single day I'm getting more and more customers...Pakistan, India, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, they eat mostly goat. (659-69)
N3: The Pakistani population alone in New York City has increased 155% in the last ten years, driving strong demand for goat, especially goat slaughtered according to muslim, or Halal, traditions. The potential for profit has pushed some U-S farmers to take up goat breeding. Even as more farmers get into the business, Lexington, Kentucky-based goat breeder Terry Hudson is optimistic the market will continue to grow.
A4: 50 percent of the goat meat that's consumed in the US is brought in from Australia and NZ as frozen carcasses, people who do buy goat meat prefer fresh meat, so we're not even producing enough to service the domestic market.
N4: Since 1999, U-S consumption of goat rose 64 percent to 25 million pounds in 2004. And you don't have to be in New York City to get your goat fix. Terry Hudson.
A5: We have a barbeque place here in lexington that's offering barbequed goat, so you're probably then going to have integration of meat into the diet of the established american.
N5: Goat burgers anyone? For Columbia Radio News, I'm Michele Steele.