Mahasthangarh, one of the largest sacrificial animal markets in Bogura district, is now packed with thousands of cattle. As every year, Bogura's farmers have carefully raised lakhs of cattle and goats for Eid-ul-Azha. But although the market grounds are full, buyers are showing little response and sales are slow.

A visit to the market on Wednesday 20 May found some buyers looking at cattle and others busy haggling, but most were there to check the market and were unwilling to buy yet. Sellers, meanwhile, were hoping for good prices and worrying about the lack of buyers. Buyers' views on prices were mixed: some called them high, others fairly reasonable.

Sajjadul Islam, a buyer, said he liked more or less all the cattle, but the prices did not match; sellers were asking too much.

Another buyer, Ainul, who bought a cow for Tk 53,000, said angrily: "I bought this for 53 thousand. Then I paid a market fee of Tk 1,200 on top."

Another buyer, Shipon Mondol, said: "Prices are fine. It looks like they will stay low this time. I've come to buy and we're talking. It's stuck over a small amount. If I add another three thousand or so, they may give it."

Some sellers, however, spoke of a lack of buyers. Nayan Mondol brought two Sahiwal cattle. "Buyers are offering Tk 7 lakh to 7 lakh 20 thousand," he said. "We want between 9.5 and 10 lakh. Plenty of buyers are coming. Our idea is to sell above 8 lakh."

Chanchal Shaha, who brought 10 cattle and sold only one, said: "Prices are low. There are no buyers; the two or four who are here are just wandering around. Seeing the low prices, I'm worried what will happen."

Another seller, pointing to the paddy harvesting season and people having no money in hand, said: "The market hasn't picked up yet. If 2,000 customers come, at most 200 will buy cattle. It seems people will start buying from Friday. What the market will be like from Friday, I can't say."

Many small farmers are struggling because of high feed prices. Farmer Mohammad Ismail broke down in tears at not getting a fair price. "I've been raising this cow for three and a half years," he said. "Feed is expensive, everything is expensive. Yet at the market they offer 2 lakh 30 thousand, 2 lakh 70 thousand. It cost me Tk 4 lakh in feed. My heart is breaking; I feel like dying."

Big farmers, though, remain hopeful. Rahat Khan, owner of RK Agro Farm, said: "I brought 17 cattle of various breeds including Sahiwal and Ongole to today's market. I'm asking from Tk 3 lakh up to Tk 10–11 lakh. Three of the 17 have sold. I hope the market will be good at the last moment."

There was strong discontent among buyers and sellers at Mahasthangarh over excessive market fees. Against the rules, the market is collecting Tk 1,200 from the buyer and Tk 200 from the seller for each cow, and Tk 500 from the buyer and Tk 100 from the seller for each goat. Collecting extra money outside the government rules has drawn sharply mixed reactions from ordinary buyers and farmers.

Many were satisfied with overall security. Police and volunteers are working for the safety of buyers and sellers, and special arrangements have been made on the instructions of Bangladesh Bank to detect counterfeit notes.

Not only Mahasthangarh but every market in Bogura, large and small, is now full of animals, and the whole district is preparing on a huge scale for Eid. Animals priced from Tk 50,000 up to Tk 10 lakh have come to the markets. Farmers have raised cattle and goats on entirely natural feed, including Australian Friesian, Sahiwal, Nepalese Gir, Bhutti, Sindhi and local breeds, and are hoping for good prices.

According to the livestock officer, with imports of livestock from abroad stopped, animals worth about Tk 5,000 crore could be sold in the district this time, which would benefit local farmers.

District livestock officer Dr Kazi Ashraful Islam said more than 7.5 lakh cattle were ready in the district this year against local demand of about 4.5 lakh, so more than 2 lakh cattle were likely to be left over. His office is on maximum alert to make sure no cattle come across the border by smuggling routes.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.