Sales of sacrificial animals have picked up in the final days before Eid-ul-Azha in Ishwardi, Pabna. With cow prices lower than in other years, buyers are happy but farmers are disappointed. The busy markets are full of cows and buffaloes, but most buyers prefer small and medium cows. That was the picture at the upazila's Aronkola and Awtapara cattle markets.

Market owners say fewer cows have been sold this year than in other years, and fewer cattle traders have come from Dhaka and other district towns.

At the Aronkola market there were plenty of cows of all sizes. Hundreds were arriving by truck, bhotbhoti and power trolley from far and near, filling the huge market from one end to the other. Buyers were looking over the cows and bargaining, and the haggling and trading made the market lively.

Buyers said cow prices had been high for the past few years but were comparatively lower this Eid, so they could bargain for the cows they liked. Many expressed relief at getting their chosen cows at affordable prices.

Cattle traders and farmers said there were more sacrificial animals than demand this year, and many cows had been brought in, so cows were selling cheaper than before. But selling cheaply would mean losses for farmers, who would lose the incentive to raise cattle, they said.

Aminul Islam of the central Aronkola area of Ishwardi town said he had come to buy a cow for Tk 1 lakh to Tk 1.2 lakh, had found the one he wanted, and felt prices were lower than in other years.

Ishtiaq Ahmed of Mirkamari village in the upazila said he came to buy a medium-sized cow with a budget of Tk 1.5 lakh to Tk 1.7 lakh, and finally bought one for Tk 1.6 lakh. He was pleased to get the cow he wanted.

Imdadul Haque, a farmer from Kalikapur village, said he had brought 15 sacrificial cows to the market. Three small cows had been sold and bargaining was going on for a few more small ones, but buyers were hardly bidding for the big cows. Prices were comparatively low this year, and farmers like him would face losses, he said.

Bachchu Pramanik, a cattle trader from Ishwardi's Aronkola area, said prices at the market were comparatively low. Many local farmers sell cattle online, so a lot of cows are also sold straight from the farms. Small cows were selling more this year, he said.

Mizanur Rahman Runu Mondal, leaseholder of the Aronkola cattle market, said a great many cows and buffaloes had been brought in and buyers were plentiful, but sales were lower than in other years.

Ishwardi upazila livestock officer Nazmul Islam said Ishwardi is a prosperous upazila where many farmers had raised cows, buffaloes and other animals for Eid-ul-Azha. The upazila has two cattle markets, where medical teams are checking animals' health and giving treatment, with arrangements for examining and diagnosing suspect animals and providing first aid. In all, 72,000 animals, including cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep, had been prepared for sacrifice in the upazila, against a local demand of 41,000. After meeting local demand, traders are taking about 33,000 sacrificial animals to other districts, divisional cities and the capital, he said.

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