The number of available sacrificial animals in the country this Eid-ul-Azha is more than the demand. Despite this, prices at the cattle markets across the country, including the capital city, is significantly high.
The buyers said the price is nearly 30 per cent higher than the last Eid-ul-Azha.
Fisheries and livestock minister Md. Abdur Rahman, however, said the traders who have been raising the prices of cattle through manipulation will receive a blow.
Speaking to the media at his secretariat office on Thursday, the minister said nearly 13 million sacrificial animals are ready in the country this Eid-ul-Azha against the demand of 10.7 million.
Countering the minister’s claim, livestock experts said the price would have been much lower than the previous times if there had really been a record number of animals ready. But this is not actually happening.
According to the livestock department, the number of animals that can be sacrificed is over 12.98 million, the highest number of animals produced locally.
But professor AHM Saiful Islam of agricultural economy department at Bangladesh Agricultural University questions the credibility of this claim.
Speaking to Prothom Alo he said the price should have been lower if the supply is higher. There are questions about the government statistics on the number of animals.
The farmers also said rearing cattle is costlier now due to prices of fodder, which is 40 per cent higher than last year. This has affected the cattle market.
According to Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association (BDFA), the price of cattle (live weight) is about Tk 500-600 per kg and Tk 630 per kg online.
The price was Tk 480-500 per kg last year, the BDFA added. In general, the amount of meat and bones of a cow is about 55 per cent of live weight.
BDFA president Md. Imran Hossain has a farm ‘Sadik Agro’ in the capital’s Bosila area. He has 2,100 cattle ready there. Already he has sold nearly 1,000 cattle.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said he has sold 900 cattle on ‘live weight’. Cows over 600 kg of weight are being sold based on “looks”.
Animal sacrifice post- and pre-Covid
An analysis of data from the past eight years showed the number of sacrificial animals saw a rise until the Covid pandemic broke out. According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), a little over 16.15 million animals were slaughtered in 2019, but the figure dropped to a little over 9.45 million in 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The number of sacrificial animals fell further to about 9.1 million in 2021.
Sacrificial animals saw a slight rise to about 10 million in 2022 but rose significantly to about 14.12 million in 2023. Taking the number of sacrificial animals into consideration, it can be said people are yet to get the financial affordability that they had prior to the pandemic.
Prothom Alo spoke to at least six people with limited income, who sacrificed animals during the last Eid-ul-Azha. Four of them said this year they would maintain the budget that they spent last year and two of them said they have cut the budget this year. One of the two with a reduced budget said he purchased a cow at 80,000 taka last year, but he will spend 50,000 taka this year since the previous budget becomes a little bit of pressure for him. Besides, he shares the sacrificial animal with none, this time he is preparing to sacrifice a goat.
Cattle prices, however, will drop slightly in the coming days, said DLS director general Mohammad Reazul Haque. He told Prothom Alo cattle sellers who are asking for additional prices now despite the cattle market gaining momentum will also slash prices because there is a tendency to stick to the price at the beginning.
Sales open at capital’s cattle markets
With Eid-ul-Azha going to be celebrated in Bangladesh on Monday, sales of sacrificial animals began at a total of 20 permanent and makeshift markets in Dhaka city – nine cattle market in Dhaka South and 11 in Dhaka North city corporations – yesterday, Thursday. Sales will continue till the morning of Eid day.
According to cattle sellers, sales will mainly gain momentum across all cattle markets other than the Gabtoli cattle market starting Friday. Two Prothom Alo correspondents visited various cattle Dhaka markets including Gabtoli, Hazaribagh, Meradi and Uttra’s Diabari. More buyers, as well as more animals, were seen in the Gabtoli cattle market than in other markets, but most buyers expressed dissatisfaction over price.
Mahbubur Rahman is a lawyer. He went to the capital’s Meradi market on Thursday afternoon. He told Prothom Alo cattle that were sold for 100,000 taka last year are being asked for 200,000 taka this year, and he could not buy a cow of his liking after visiting the entire market.
Thousands of people were seen thronging the Gabtoli market. Prothom Alo spoke to certain Ahad Hossain from the Shaymoli Ring Road area. He said he purchased a small cow at Tk 91,000, but he bought a similar one at 78,000 taka last year.
Canopies have been erected in most parts of the Gabtoli cattle market. Electric fans were installed; yet, it had become difficult for many people to stay in the market due to excessive heat. Along with cattle and goats, camels, lambs and buffalos have also been up for sale at the markets. Sellers said buyers showed less interest in big-sized animals. Most of the animals sold on Thursday were priced between 100,000 and 250,000 taka, according to people involved in market operation. They said the highest price of a single animal rose as high as 450,000 taka on Thursday.
Seller Amzad Hossain brought two camels and two fat-tailed sheep (dumba). He brought these camels from Pakistan and put a price ranging from 2.6 million to 2.8 million taka each.
He told Pothom Alo cattle price is 20-30 per cent higher this year than last year. Asked why such a price, he said the price of everything is higher in the country.