Most of the capital’s cattle markets have begun to pick up momentum ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha declared on Wednesday.
Since last Saturday, the day cattle sales officially began, thousands of enthusiastic buyers were found visiting the makeshift markets where there are plenty of sacrificial animals. The average prices were higher than the usual expectation.
Upon visiting the capital’s Hazaribagh cattle market on Sunday afternoon, this correspondent witnessed large crowd surfing through the market in festive moods. However, prices of cattle are seemingly high and difficult to bargain.
Cows were tied up in queues that seem to have no end; rather kept adding to the number. Flocks of goats could be seen at certain intervals. The number of customers kept increasing in the market as the day matured.
According to the traders, the demand for smaller size cows is high in the markets. The demand for goats in the markets is also relatively high this year. Thousands of cows continue to arrive in the markets. Apart from this, camels, buffaloes and sheep have also been seen in the markets.
Many of the customers who came to the market with the intention to buy told the correspondent that the prices are quite high and the sellers are adamant and are in no mood for negotiations yet.
The average asking price for a cow weighing over 120 kilos by the traders is well over Tk 100,000. There are, however, plenty of scopes for bargaining due to availability of cattle and with significant time still left for Eid.
“Most traders refuse to sell now. The prices are way higher than expectations. It seems the traders want to wait until the last moment for the best price they can fetch,” said a customer from Banashree.
Hamid Bepari in the Hazaribagh cattle market already sold three out of the five cows he brought into Dhaka. One pair for Tk. 1.86 lakh and another for Tk 56 thousand.
Many others like him have already sold some of their cattle. They admit that there seems to be enough customers in the market at the moment.
While talking to this correspondent, some traders shared that they have an expectation and believe they will be able to let go of their cattle at a fair price soon.
“No side of the market is empty. There are enough cattle and enough customers as well. We will let go when we can reach a negotiated price. There are still a couple of more days to left before the Eid”, said a farmer from Munshiganj.
Similar scenes were noticed in the Mohammadpur-Bosila, Rahamatganj and Gabtoli cattle markets as well. There seems to be no crisis of cattle yet, however customers are not satisfied with the prices in this period of time.
Dhaka has been home to many ‘Agro’ (agricultural) farms as well that breed cattle commercially and look to target Eid seasons. Many farms such as Sadek Agro, Saara Agro, Ramon Agro etc have come into the limelight.
Atunul Rashid, owner of Raman Agro told Bangladesh Post that almost half of the cows in his farm have already been sold.
“I took some of my cows to the local cattle markets and kept around 20 cows in my farm from start. Already around 10 have been sold and we look to do more business in the coming days,” he said.
It was estimated that due to the opportunities and encouragements, a significant number of cattle in the country will be sold online due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
DNCC inaugurated its Digital Haat (online cattle market) at the beginning of the month and according to their Veterinary Officer, Dr Sharmin Samad, 1 lakh cows have already been sold through the platform.
Although it was restricted for children and the senior citizens to visit the market, most of the customers have come with their families. However, continuous announcements were made regarding various aspects of health awareness. But the public seemed to pay no attention.
Meanwhile, most of the buyers and sellers were not seen wearing face masks. Although the authorities and volunteers have been handing out masks free of cost, majorities of them were seen hanging on the chins instead of covering the faces.
Cattle traders are instructed to enter the market through disinfection tunnels but the tunnels were nowhere to be seen at the entrance of many of those markets.
At the beginning of the month, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim said that the government will not allow entry of any cattle from outside the country ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The decision still stands at the moment.
According to the department of Livestock Services (DLS), an estimated 1.20 crore sacrificial animals are available for sale this Eid compared to 1.18 crore last year.