Eid-ul-Azha is tomorrow. Every year most cattle and goats are bought and sold at the sacrificial animal markets a day or two before Eid, and traders were waiting for that this year too. But continuous heavy rain has washed away their hopes. Buyers are scarce, cattle prices are falling fast, and traders cannot find buyers even at a loss.

That was the scene at Gabtali, the capital's largest sacrificial animal market, on Wednesday (28 June) afternoon. Traders said cattle and goats sold reasonably well at the capital's markets on Tuesday, and they were waiting for the last day, the eve of Eid, for good sales. But heavy rain from the morning has left the market short of buyers. Many traders who could not sell are in despair and, with prices suddenly dropping, fear losses.

At Gabtali, the number of buyers was very low because of the downpour since morning, although the market was full of animals. With so few buyers, traders are not getting the prices they want.

Traders said many of them raised their cattle with bank loans and were waiting to sell at a good price before Eid to make a profit. Others took cattle from households on payment of a token sum, hoping to sell at a profit. Having failed to sell by midday on the last day, many are worried. But they have not given up, and said sales could pick up in the afternoon and evening if the rain holds off.

Cattle prices at Gabtali were lower than on Tuesday. Traders could find no reason for the sudden fall, and fear losses if they sell cheaply.

Heavy rain since the morning had turned the market into a mess of mud and water, with cattle and goats standing and lying in the mud. Sellers believe the animals could fall ill if they stay like this for long. Even so, sellers stood in the rain waiting for buyers.

Many people stood at the entrance to Gabtali with their cattle for hours without finding a buyer. Noushad Hossain came from Mirpur in Kushtia with cattle he had raised himself. But up to Tuesday noon he had not found a buyer.

Abdus Sattar, a trader from Singair in Manikganj, brought 15 cattle and has sold three at a loss. For the rest, buyers are offering Tk 30,000 to 40,000 less than he paid.

"I brought cattle to market with a bank loan," Abdus Sattar said. "Many others got cattle out of the cowshed by paying whatever they could. We were supposed to pay this money back by selling at good prices, but now I see a loss of several lakh taka. How will I repay? There are no buyers in the market."

Yarul Mondal, a trader from Jhenaidah, sat with his head in his hands, unable to sell. The fall in prices has put him in trouble. "Brother, there are no buyers," he told Jago News. "Nobody is coming in the rain. We're finished again this time. A cow I bought for Tk 1 lakh 80,000 is getting offers of Tk 1 lakh 60,000. I can see the loss in front of my eyes."

Traders believe the fall in prices is due to the ample supply of sacrificial animals in the market and the rain keeping buyers away. They still want to wait for buyers until the end.

Shahidul Islam Laltu, a trader who came to Gabtali from Alamdanga in Chuadanga, said: "There's no price for cattle. I don't understand why this happened. There are no buyers. For a Tk 4 lakh cow they're offering Tk 2 lakh. It's as if lightning has struck us."

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