Yunus Bepari of Shailkupa in Jhenaidah brought 22 cows to a market in the capital, all of medium quality and priced between Tk 1.1 lakh and Tk 1.6 lakh. He has sold 17 of them at a modest profit and is asking a higher price for the remaining five.

That is how cattle prices have suddenly risen. Buyers have increased relative to the number of cows in the markets, and traders are using the chance to ask more.

Since Saturday, sellers have been asking Tk 10,000–20,000 more per cow.

That was the picture at several markets, including Mohammadpur-Bosila, on Sunday (16 June). Cows that would not yield three maunds of meat were being priced at Tk 1.3 lakh.

Prices were a little lower in the morning but started rising after 11am. Haji Mominul Mia, a resident of Kaderabad Housing in Mohammadpur, did not buy a cow at Tk 1 lakh yesterday, yet today he bought one of the same quality for Tk 1.25 lakh.

"The traders won't let the cows go; they want more. They expect prices to rise in the evening and at night. They ask so much. The prices they are asking make me laugh," Mominul said.

The traders, for their part, say prices are higher because there are more buyers in the markets.

Jobed Ali Bepari has brought five cows from Chuadanga to the Mohammadpur market and is asking more for all of them.

Explaining the high prices, he said: "Cows are running short and there are more buyers. I lost money last time. This time cows cannot be had cheaply. Prices are up — fewer cows, more buyers in the market."

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