With Eid-ul-Azha approaching, the traditional Bamondi-Nishipur cattle market in the south-west is bustling. Traders are coming from neighbouring districts and from Dhaka as well as local buyers. Buying and selling has been going on for several weeks, from morning until night, and the abundance of local cattle is catching everyone's eye.

Those involved say more animals have come to the market this year than in the past few years. But with sellers somewhat outnumbering buyers, reactions on prices are mixed: some say the market is good, others complain they are not getting the price they want.

A tour of the market found cattle selling for Tk 70,000 to Tk 6 lakh depending on size, with buyers showing more interest in local breeds.

Selim Reza, a trader from Chattogram, said: "The supply of cattle at Bamondi market is good. The cattle here have smooth coats and are healthy, so they are in demand in markets elsewhere. That is why I buy cattle here every year and sell them in different districts. But this time prices are a bit higher, so it may be hard to meet my target."

Tariq Hossain, a small farmer who brought cattle to sell, said: "Feed prices have gone up, so the cost of running a farm has risen too. But the prices on offer don't match that."

"Straw, bran and feed have become much more expensive. The traders are offering half of what it cost me to raise the cattle. I won't sell unless I get my target price. But if buyers from Dhaka come, we'll get a good price," he said.

The market lessees say security has been tightened across the market. Special measures have been taken against counterfeit notes, monitoring teams have been placed in the market, and police patrol round the clock.

Lessee Harun Or Rashid Bachchu said: "If we charged tolls per thousand taka as the government rule says, the cost would be even higher. So we are charging a fixed Tk 600-700 per animal. Both buyers and sellers benefit from this."

"About 4,500 to 5,000 cattle will be sold at the Friday market alone, and around 3,500 goats. Animals worth Tk 300 to 350 crore could change hands at this market over the whole month," he added.

District police have taken special measures for security at the market. Uttam Kumar Das, officer-in-charge (OC) of Gangni police station, said: "On the instructions of the district police, several teams are working to ensure overall security at Bamondi cattle market. We are keeping the closest watch to make sure there is no untoward incident."

According to the district livestock department, 172,569 animals are ready for Qurbani in Meherpur this year: 40,349 bulls, 4,844 bullocks, 8,509 cows, 482 buffalo, 115,665 goats and 2,720 sheep.

Likely Qurbani demand in the district is 90,234 animals, which means a large number can be supplied to other districts after local demand is met.

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