Ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha, the capital's sacrificial animal markets have filled up with cattle and goats, and animals are still arriving from different parts of the country. Sales have picked up, with demand highest for small and medium-sized cattle, but buyers and sellers have mixed reactions over prices.

This was the picture on the morning of Saturday, 15 June, during visits to Balur Math, the Shahjahanpur Maitri Sangha field and Meradia Bazar in the capital.

Sacrificial animals arrived at these markets about a week ago, but sales began in earnest only on Friday. Demand is now highest for small and medium cattle. Large cattle are also selling, but fewer than small ones.

Sellers say buyers want to pay low prices, while buyers say sellers have raised prices because of strong demand for small and medium cattle.

Saeed Hossain, a trader from Kushtia, told Jago News that demand for cattle in the market has risen, but prices are not high enough compared with costs.

Azmaun, a cattle trader from Jamalpur, said the same. "Cattle feed was expensive this time, and the cost of raising cattle has gone up a lot. But we are not getting prices to match. Buyers want to pay even less for big cattle," he told Jago News.

Buyers do not agree. Shakhawat Hossain told Jago News that sellers are asking very high prices for small cattle this year, much higher than in other years, while big cattle are cheaper. "They are raising prices because demand for small and medium cattle has grown," he said.

This year 20 sacrificial animal markets have been set up in the Dhaka North and South city areas: 11 in the south city, including the permanent Saruliya market, and nine in the north city, including the permanent market at Gabtali. Security forces were seen patrolling the markets, and lease-holders were working alongside volunteers.

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