After a spell of rain in the morning, more buyers turned up at the Kalshi cattle market in Pallabi in the capital on Tuesday (26 May). But although the supply of cows was ample, sales were comparatively low. Many buyers were seen leaving disappointed because sellers were asking high prices, especially for small and medium-sized cows.

Around the market, buyers and sellers were haggling. Sellers pointed to their extra costs to justify higher prices, while buyers said prices were unusually high for the size of the animals. The result is a kind of waiting game: buyers are waiting for prices to fall, and sellers hope to sell at a higher price at the last minute.

While a red cow was being bargained over at Kalshi, seller Moshiur was asking Tk 2.6 lakh for it, claiming it would yield about 8 maunds of meat. Buyer Aslam, however, said it would not yield more than 5 maunds and offered Tk 1.9 lakh. Moshiur replied flatly that he would not consider any price below Tk 2 lakh.

Asadul Islam, a government employee, had been looking for a medium-sized cow at the market for nearly two hours. "I like the cows but the prices are beyond me. I offered up to Tk 1.41 lakh for one, but the seller won't let it go for less than Tk 1.45 lakh," he said.

Matin Mia had come from Uttara with friends. Not finding a cow at the price he wanted, he set off for the Gabtoli market. He said medium cows were very expensive at Kalshi and that the same type of cow might be found at Gabtoli for Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 less.

Masum, a seller from Pabna, was asking Tk 1.2 lakh for a cow expected to yield three maunds of meat. Amin Haque, another seller from the same district, was asking Tk 1.3 lakh for a cow of about the same weight. Both said buyers were not offering the prices they expected.

Zahid, a seller from Rajbari, said the market was the same as the day before: many buyers but few sales. Buyers were offering Tk 15,000 to Tk 20,000 less per cow, he said.

Meanwhile, seller Alam Sardar was asking Tk 2 lakh for a white cow expected to yield about 6 maunds of meat. He said the highest offer so far was Tk 1.7 lakh, and he hopes to sell it at a good price in the end.

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