Sacrificial cows sell for as little as Tk 35,000 at Dhaka's Dholaikhal market

On the evening of Wednesday 27 May 2026, the day before Eid-ul-Azha, many buyers at the temporary cattle market in Dhaka's Dholaikhal area went home with sacrificial cows bought for Tk 35,000 to Tk 50,000. Jagonews24 reported that rows of cattle filled the market but buyers were relatively few, leaving many traders worried they would not sell before the festival. Bangladesh's National Moon Sighting Committee had set Eid-ul-Azha for 28 May.

The Dholaikhal market sits in the Dhaka South City Corporation area, beside the Sadeque Hossain Khoka field. On 26 May the Dhaka Tribune reported that stalls had spread along Dholaikhal Road from the Raishaheb Bazar intersection, beyond the area the city corporation had designated, and that buyers and sellers were still failing to agree on prices.

After dusk on 27 May, traders sat holding their cattle's ropes as they waited for buyers. Some walked their animals from one end of the market to the other; others complained that they could find no buyer even after cutting prices. A few tried to take their cattle out of the market, but the leaseholders would not let the animals leave.

A buyer named Md Jewel paid Tk 35,000 for a small cow. He told Jagonews that whether he had been cheated or got a bargain did not matter much, but prices seemed quite low that day. Firoz paid Tk 40,000 and Hasan Tk 49,000; both said prices were low and they were glad to buy at that level.

Another buyer, who paid Tk 80,000 for a medium-sized cow, said prices had suddenly fallen sharply: the day before, traders had been asking more than Tk 1.4 lakh for the same animal.

Baten Sheikh, who brought six cows from Kushtia, said that after two days at the market his costs for feed, labour and transport kept rising, yet there were hardly any buyers: people looked, asked the price and left. Buyers were offering about Tk 1 lakh for a cow he had bought for Tk 1.5 lakh, a loss he said he could not accept. If he could not sell, he would take the cattle back home.

A trader from Manikganj said some sellers were letting cattle worth Tk 80,000 to 90,000 go for Tk 50,000 to 60,000, and that most traders had made losses this year. If losses went on like this, he warned, many would quit the business.

A woman who had brought goats from Keraniganj said buyers were offering far too little, so she wanted to take her goats away, but those in charge of the market would not let animals out yet.

Dholaikhal was not alone. A UNB report published by the Dhaka Tribune on 27 May said sacrificial cattle prices at Dhaka's makeshift markets fell by more than half in the final hours before Eid. At the Meradiya market, animals that had sold for Tk 1.5 lakh were fetching Tk 70,000 to 80,000. The report blamed waterlogging after continuous rain, higher transport and fodder costs, and the 5 percent haseel (market levy) on purchases. New Age reported on 26 May that heavy rain on Sunday and Monday had disrupted trading at the capital's markets.

Supply was ample. According to BSS, Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid said on 3 May that more than 1.24 crore animals were available for qurbani, that no animals would be imported and that more than 3,600 cattle markets would be set up nationwide. New Age put the total at 5.69 million cows and buffaloes and 6.63 million goats and sheep. The Department of Livestock Services recorded 91,36,734 animals sacrificed at Eid-ul-Azha in 2025.

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

Sources: Jagonews24, Dhaka Tribune, UNB, BSS, New Age, The Daily Star