Bangladesh Eid cattle markets open slow as fewer sacrifices are feared

Bangladesh's sacrificial animal markets for Eid-ul-Azha formally opened across the country in May 2026, but a slump showed from the start. Jagonews24 reported on 25 May that high inflation, an economic downturn and higher fodder prices had left fewer animals at the markets, while sellers were asking somewhat higher prices. The National Moon Sighting Committee had set Eid-ul-Azha for 28 May. The trade feared sacrifices would fall again, as in recent years.

According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), 9,136,734 animals were sacrificed at Eid-ul-Azha in 2025, about 1.3 million fewer than the 10,408,918 sacrificed in 2024. More than 3.31 million animals fit for sacrifice went unsold in 2025.

At a press conference at the Secretariat on 3 May 2026, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid presented DLS figures showing 12,333,840 animals available for that year's Eid: 5,695,878 cattle and buffaloes, 6,632,307 goats and sheep and 5,655 others, including camels and fat-tailed sheep. Projected demand was 10,106,334, leaving an expected surplus of 2,227,506 animals.

Those in the trade told Jagonews24, however, that sacrifices in 2026 could fall below 2025's 9.1 million, and that more animals might go unsold than the department expected.

Analysts blamed economic weakness, a business slowdown, rising poverty, high inflation and falling purchasing power. With production costs rising, animal prices had climbed beyond the reach of low- and lower-middle-income families. Many who used to sacrifice an animal on their own were now sharing one with others, and the recent political situation had also weighed on the market.

Agricultural economist Jahangir Alam Khan, a former director general of the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, said animal prices had risen because farmers' costs had gone up, while high inflation left ordinary people struggling with daily expenses. Those who used to give small cows were giving goats, he said, and those who had managed with great difficulty could not do so this time.

Ripon Kumar Mondal, professor of agricultural economics at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said the economic weakness that followed Covid had not passed. Many middle-class families could not spend Tk 1 lakh or more on a cow, so they were buying goats or not sacrificing at all.

DLS Deputy Director (Farms) Md Shariful Haque said some animals are left over every year, but since meat is in demand all year, farmers need not fear big losses: unsold animals can be sold at the next Eid or at any time. According to the report, half of all cattle slaughtered in Bangladesh each year are slaughtered at Eid-ul-Azha.

Most marginal farmers disagreed, saying animals raised for the sacrifice do not recover their production cost when sold to butchers in normal times. Rubel Hossain, a farmer from Akkelpur in Joypurhat, said animals returning unsold often fall ill from the strain, and every cost of feed and medicine until they are sold is extra. After Eid, the glut of unsold animals also pushes market prices down.

Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Dairy and Fattening Farmers Association, said a cow of five to six maunds that goes unsold at Eid later loses 50 to 100 kg. Fodder, medicine and farm running costs had risen abnormally in recent years, he said, and the government should take note. He added that the fear of weak sales was not yet final, since the main Eid trading begins two days before the festival.

In Dhaka, trading had begun but fell short of hopes; with prices high, most visitors looked and left. Sellers said demand was again highest for small and medium cows, and cows expected to yield four to four and a half maunds of meat were being offered at more than Tk 1.5 lakh. They said they had paid farmers in remote areas Tk 10,000 to Tk 15,000 more than the previous year for small and medium cows, and up to Tk 1 lakh more for big ones.

Abdul Bari, a buyer at the capital's Shahjahanpur market, said the market felt very expensive from the start: a cow priced at Tk 1.7 lakh, in his view, was worth Tk 1.4 lakh.

Photo: Wasiul Bahar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard, The Daily Star