Faridpur's biggest cattle market, the Tepakhola market, has become busy ahead of Eid. Cattle are arriving in large numbers, but sellers outnumber buyers. There is no demand for big cattle, buyers are few and prices are low. Overall, traders and farmers are frustrated with sales at the market this year.

Many hope, however, that trade will pick up as Eid draws closer, and buyers are happy with the low prices.

According to the district livestock office, there are 40 cattle markets in the district. This year Faridpur's demand for sacrificial animals is more than 1 lakh 8 thousand. Some 3,000 more animals than that are available for sale at 8,178 farms of all sizes and in farmers' cowsheds across the district's nine upazilas. They include 51,167 cattle, 54,925 goats, 4,597 sheep and 105 buffaloes.

At Tepakhola, known as the district's big market, at least 20,000 cattle had arrived from the local area and other southern districts. There are cattle of every kind, large, medium and small, selling for Tk 25,000 up to Tk 7 lakh depending on size. CCTV cameras have been installed for security, and besides law enforcers there are volunteers from the lessee and veterinary doctors from the district livestock office.

But buyers are few compared with the cattle. More people are looking and asking prices than buying, and there is almost no demand for big cattle. Buyers are happy with low prices, but sellers are disappointed not to get the prices they expected.

Buyer Nur Islam Sheikh said a lot of cattle had come to the market and prices were lower than last time. He bought two cows and said he would make a profit selling them elsewhere. Small cattle are in greater demand, he said.

Another buyer, Adel Sheikh, said there were still a few days left and he had come to look, not to buy. He walked around, asked prices, and will buy after visiting a few markets. Demand is lower this time but supply is higher, he said, and prices are lower than last time. Rather than one big cow, he may buy two or three if needed.

Market lessee M A Salam Lal Mia said the market sits every Tuesday and that Tepakhola is the biggest cattle market in the south. It has already become busy, there are all kinds of security arrangements for buyers and sellers, and the market charges a hasil of Tk 3,000 per lakh.

Cattle trader Kabir Hossain said he brought eight cattle, large and small. Many cattle are coming to the market but there is no one to buy; more people are just looking. Of the eight, he managed to sell three for Tk 3 lakh 80 thousand, making a limited profit, whereas last year cattle of this size fetched over four lakh.

Farmer Monir Hossain said he has 12 cattle on his farm, two of them weighing over 15 maunds. Because Tepakhola is a big market, he brought one big cow. Buyers walk around, look and ask the price, but not a single person makes an offer. He found no one to buy it and will have to take it back home. There is almost no demand for big cattle this year, he said; it remains to be seen what happens in the end.

Faridpur livestock officer Dr Sanjib Kumar Biswas said Tepakhola is the district's biggest market and has a medical team to treat any animal that falls ill. There are 40 markets in the district, with 18 medical teams working at them. Several days remain before the sacrifice, and it is not yet possible to say whether sales are good or bad, he said.

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