Ariful Alam Islam Jibon brought five large cows from Manikganj Sadar to the Cantonment Board cattle market at Mirpur 14. He unloaded them at the market on Thursday, and nearly two days later, by Friday afternoon, he had sold only two.

Only one night remains before Eid, and three of his cows are still unsold. Buyers are offering low prices for big cows and buying medium and small ones instead. As a result, many traders with large cattle are in trouble. Some are leaving without selling, while others are waiting for the night before Eid.

Jago News spoke to Jibon on Friday (6 June) afternoon. "I raise big cows as a passion," he said regretfully. "They have to be fed well and looked after with great care, and there are many other costs. It is not possible to sell them at a loss."

He said, however, that he got good prices for the two cows he did sell.

"The Friesian cow will give more than 6 maunds of meat. I asked Tk 2 lakh 60 thousand, and the buyer is offering Tk 1 lakh 80 thousand. With such a gap, it is not possible to sell," Jibon added.

A visit to the market at midday showed demand was higher for small and medium cows, with buyers bargaining less over big ones. There was no shortage of buyers, but relatively few sacrificial animals.

Small and medium cows were seen selling more at the market. Sellers said these were priced between Tk 60,000 and Tk 2 lakh.

Ansar Ali brought four cows from Sarail in Brahmanbaria. He is asking Tk 3 lakh 20 thousand for a Sahiwal cow weighing 9 maunds, and Tk 4 lakh 20 thousand for a Friesian that he estimates weighs 14 maunds.

He said most buying and selling took place on Wednesday and Thursday, and there were fewer buyers today. "I cannot sell these two big cows. My two small cows are already sold. This time big cows are fetching no price at all," he said.

"I raise big cows as a passion," he added. The prices being quoted, he said, were Tk 50,000 to Tk 80,000 below his asking price per cow. "If I don't get a good price, I will leave tonight."

Abdus Salam, a resident of Mirpur 10, was met in front of the market's toll booth. He had bought a medium-sized local cow and said he was satisfied with prices this year. "They asked Tk 1 lakh 70 thousand. After bargaining, I took it for Tk 1 lakh 40 thousand."

Another buyer, Rabiul, was looking for a big cow. He told Jago News he had already bought one, and would buy another, a Sahiwal, if the price suited him.

Asked why there are few buyers for big cows, Rabiul said wealthy people bring big cows from farms, and some have farms of their own. The middle class mostly buy medium-sized cows, and there are comparatively more middle-class people in Dhaka.

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