Livestock trade booms in Teknaf as the Rohingya sell them for whatever they can get

Bangladeshi traders are making a quick buck in the livestock business as the Rohingya are reportedly selling cattle at a very low price. Several thousands of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats have arrived at Teknaf through the Shah Porir Dwip corridor this month. Most of these animals are brought from Rakhine villages by both Bangali and Rohingya people after the military crackdown began on August 25. Locals said that Rohingya men with the help of Bangladeshi traders go back to their villages on small engine-run boats and bring back livestock. Since they are bringing back whatever is left alive, a lot of the owners are completely unaware that they are being brought to Bangladesh to be sold. “A syndicate has been working to sell livestock from Rohingya villages. Both Bangladeshi and Rohingya men are involved in this syndicate. Bangladeshi men provide the boats to bring the livestock and the Rohingya get them, because they know where to look. They share the profits of the sale equally,” said Mohammad Nur, an auto-driver in Shah Porir Dwip. A number of livestock traders from different districts like Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur has been coming to a market adjacent to the Naf River to buy the cheap livestock, locals said. Rafikuzzaman, a local trader bought 18 goats for a total of Tk39,600. Another trader, Abdul Karim bought a total of 25 Myanmar cows for Tk640,000. He paid Tk25,000 for each. “The Rohingya are selling them at a reasonable price because they need money now,” said Karim. Md Kashim, a member of the cattle trader’s committee said that when cattle arrive, Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) receives them. They give a document with the number of animals and one has to pay Tk500 for each cow/ buffalo and Tk200 for each goat or sheep to the government bank as VAT. “Once we pay the tax, the BGB will release the cattle for sale,” said Kashim. While contacted, the BGB camp at Shah Porir Dwip, however, did not provide any statistics or number of animals that arrived through the corridor from Myanmar. “We cannot give any data without the permission of higher authorities. We have been told not to make any comment to the press and media. Our duty is only maintaining border security,” a BGB member requesting anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune.