800,000 cows up for sale online
Among a total of five million cows likely to be sold this Eid-ul-Azha, at least 800,000 are up for sale online. Over the last three years, online sales of cows during Eid increased three to four fold. The cattle are being sold over social media sites like Facebook, Viber and Whatsapp. The sellers also offer home delivery.
‘Raja Babu’, a cow weighing about two tonnes, is a glaring example of the rising popularity of online cattle market. The cow is up for sale on an online site. The owner, Iti Akhter of the village Delua in Saturia upazila, Manikganj, has set the animal's price at Tk 2.2 million (Tk 22 lakh). People are crowding the farm to get a glimpse of ‘Raja Babu’.
The number of local cows has increased in the Eid market over the last three years. Both public and private sectors are investing in livestock rearing as cattle imports from India and Myanmar are on a decline.
Technology is being used in cattle rearing and selling. The livestock department’s field workers provide the farmers with technical help. Bangladesh Bank and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) are investing in this sector through various non-governmental organisations.
PKSF chairman Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad told Prothom Alo that there has been a silent revolution in cattle rearing in recent years.
“We are investing and giving technical assistance for rearing one million cows. Every cow is being insured, given safe food, medicine and a proper environment. Both sellers and buyers are now being benefitted,” he added.
Those involved in the cattle market expect that the sales in the traditional cattle market, apart from farm and online sales, will reach 4.2 million this year. However, sales are yet to pick up in the traditional 'haats'. The city people are turning towardsonline sites as they don’t have adequate space and facilities to keep the sacrificial animals.
Bengal Meat’s marketing director HUM Mehedi Sajjad told Prothom Alo that the purchases from farms and online have multiplied this year.
Market related sources and buyers said, the increase of sales online and from farms have been a boon to for both buyers and sellers. The sellers are exempted from the hassle taking their animals to the market, having to pay extortionists and being cheated by middlemen.
General secretary of Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association, Shah Imran, said that their member farmers are selling at least 500 cows every day. The cows are also being sold over social media platforms.
Some buyers, who have already purchased their animals online, said that they prefer online purchases to avoid buying forcefully fattened animals. In traditional cattle markets, the sellers often use toxic steroids to fatten animals.