Shahidul Islam has brought two big cattle from Gangni in Meherpur to the Gabtoli market in the capital. He is asking Tk 13.5 lakh for each, and claims each will yield one and a half tonnes of meat. He came to Gabtoli with high hopes, but the buyers he wants have not appeared. Traders hope the right buyers will come on Friday and Saturday, the two days before Eid.

A visit on Wednesday (6 July) to Gabtoli, the capital's only permanent cattle market, found few buyers for big cattle, and those who did come were not offering the prices sellers expected.

Abdur Rahim has brought one big cow to Gabtoli from Ullapara in Sirajganj. He said the offers for big cattle were not what he had hoped for. "For a cow worth Tk 15 lakh, people are offering very little, not even worth mentioning," he said. He expects buyers of big cattle to come to the market in the coming days.

Medium-sized cattle that will yield three to four maunds of meat have started selling at Gabtoli, and demand for them is higher, but there were few buyers for big cattle. Buyers in the capital, however, tend to buy their sacrificial animals a day or two before Eid, so traders expect more buyers at the capital's markets on Friday and Saturday, and with them more demand for big cattle.

Hasmat Bepari has brought 10 big cattle from Jhenaidah and is asking Tk 12 to 15 lakh each, depending on the animal, but has not yet sold any. Keeping a big cow after buying it is a problem in Dhaka because of space, he said. Friday and Saturday before Eid are government holidays, and he hopes buyers will come then.

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