Eid-ul-Azha, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim community, is two days away, and cattle markets have come alive for the qurbani. Trade in the capital has picked up a little late, but sales of sacrificial animals have begun. Cattle are arriving in Dhaka by truck from various districts.

On Wednesday, 4 June, a visit to Gabtoli, the capital's only permanent livestock market, found traders had brought in plenty of cattle, with one or two buyers asking prices.

People involved say many cattle are coming to Dhaka this year and prices are cheap, but buyers are still few. A cow that will give four maunds of meat is available for Tk 1 lakh 30 thousand.

Mohammad Shahinur Rahman of Golapnagar, Bheramara, Kushtia, brought 15 cows from his farm to Gabtoli two days ago but has not yet found buyers. "Cattle prices are low. I brought 15 cows last Monday. No one makes an offer; there are no buyers," he said.

Tutul Hossain has brought two cows from Gangni in Meherpur. There has been no real bargaining yet, and the offers are very low. He is asking Tk 1 lakh 75 thousand for a cow that will give 6 maunds of meat.

He said the cows were bought at a local market at Tk 35,000 per maund, while buyers at the haat were offering on the basis of Tk 25,000 per maund of meat. Market costs are Tk 2,500 per cow, and transport from Meherpur is another Tk 3,000 per cow. "They are not offering in line with that," he said.

The trader added that cattle had no price at the moment, but farmers hoped prices would rise. He expects sales to pick up on Thursday and Friday. "At the haat, who listens to whom?" he said.

Hashmat Ali, a trader from Jibannagar in Chuadanga, said: "Buyers offer Tk 2 lakh 10 [thousand] for a Tk 3 lakh cow. There is no room to keep cattle in Dhaka. I hope sales will be good from Wednesday night to Friday night."

Shahidul Islam, who came to Gabtoli from Kalshi in Mirpur, said traders were asking high prices that were beyond his budget. "I hope prices will fall," he said.

Besides roads, cattle are also reaching Gabtoli by river from around the capital, including Manikganj and Munshiganj. Cattle sales in Dhaka usually begin two or three days before Eid because of a lack of space. But those who have their own houses are looking at cattle and may want to buy their qurbani animals early.

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