While many cattle rearers are getting their animals ready for Eid-ul-Azha, many worry they will not be able to get a proper return on investment as rising cost of cattle feed will increase their selling price, which many are not willing to pay.
This is a double edged sword, as with the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing inflation and floods for two consecutive years, people's financial capacity has been greatly reduced, making it difficult to buy sacrificial animals at higher prices.
Market analysts think that due to the increase in the price of cattle feed and transportation costs, the price of cattle may increase up to 10-15% this time.
According to Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim, there will be no shortage of sacrificial animals in Bangladesh during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
“Over 1.21 crore animals are ready to be sacrificed across the country during Eid,” the minister said recently.
“In fact, the government has taken an all-out preparation in this regard.”
“No sick animals will be allowed to be sold in the cattle markets across the country and we will ensure that no buyer and seller face any harassment,” said the minister.
He informed that a total of 12.12 million sacrificial animals are being reared in the country where the demand for sacrificial animals is 9.7 million.
So, the surplus of sacrificial animals will be 2.3 million, according to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS).
Cattle farmers planning around a 15% price hike
Cattle farmers are planning to increase the prices even after having extra livestock in the market.
Businesses in this sector are also worried about illegal road “taxation”. They said that they will be able to make up for some of the losses if syndicates and extortion are stopped, transportation is not disrupted and livestock vehicles are made toll-free.
Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association (BDFA) President Imran Hossain told Dhaka Tribune that they had enough stock of sacrificial animals. However, the prices would be 10-15% higher than that of the last year.
“This year, we are expecting a total transaction of Tk75 crore from the sacrificial animal market. It was about Tk65 crore last year. However, this year, we are still not getting much response in real-time or from online sales,” he added.
Asking about the reason behind the price, he said: “The prices of animal feed, edible oil and other essential commodities went up significantly. So, there is no alternative but to increase the price of sacrificial animals this year.”
He also said that the ongoing flood in the north and north-eastern regions, along with the rise in Covid-19 infections would create an impact on the market.
“More than 9.1 million animals were sacrificed in the previous year,” he mentioned.
Flood affects sacrificial animals
Cattle rearers have been greatly affected by the floods in the northern region.
According to data from the Department of Livestock Services, the continuing flood has affected 1.2 million sacrificial animals. Of which, 8,70,503 are cows, 32,624 are buffalos, 2,83,855 goats and 46,916 sheep in 15 districts, except Sunamganj, under five divisions.
The department officials said that they could not collect the data centrally on how many animals were affected in 11 upazilas under the Sunamganj district.
But according to them, the impact of the floods will not be felt in the sacrificial market as there are more animals in supply than demand.
Higher prices may leave more animals unsold
Experts in this sector think that the purchasing power of people has decreased due to the increase in the prices of everything. As a result, there is a fear that the sale of animals will be less this time like the last two years.
Dhaka city’s cattle markets for Eid-ul-Azha
The Dhaka city authorities are organizing 18 makeshift and two permanent cattle markets for sacrificial animals ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha due in the second week of July.
The Dhaka North City Corporation officials said that they had already finalized five makeshift cattle markets, and three more would be within the next two days.
Meanwhile, Dhaka South City Corporation has already finalized locations to hold ten makeshift cattle markets under its jurisdiction.
The permanent markets for sacrificial animals are Gabtoli under the Dhaka North and Sarulia under the Dhaka South City Corporation.
The south city authority okayed tenders for 10 makeshift cattle markets at Khilgaon Moitrisangha Club and its adjacent open spaces, Institute of Leather Technology playground at Hazaribagh, Postagola cremation ground, Meradia Bazar and its adjacent areas, Little Friends Club and Kamalapur Stadium adjacent areas, Donia College and nearby open spaces at Jatrabari, open spaces adjacent to Dholaikhal Truck Stand, Amulia Model Town, open area adjacent to Rahmatganj Club at Lalbagh, Shyampur Kadamtoli Truck Stand and its adjacent places, according to the official data.