Pabna's cattle markets crowded but sales slow ahead of Eid-ul-Adha 2026

Ahead of Eid-ul-Adha on 28 May 2026, Pabna's sacrificial animal markets were packed with buyers and sellers, but trade had yet to pick up. According to a Jagonews24 report published on 23 May, the cattle that were selling went for Tk 30,000 to 35,000 a maund. People in the trade expected sales to rise in the last few days before Eid.

At the Pushpapara market in Pabna, large numbers of cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep had been brought in for the sacrifice, with cattle and castrated goats the most numerous. Sellers had brought bulls from far away on nosimons and pickups, and stood with them in intense heat from the morning with few sales.

Sellers said markets across the district had filled with cattle for days while buyers mostly looked around. Families were holding off to avoid keeping and feeding an animal, and fewer traders than in earlier years had come from Dhaka, Chattogram and Narayanganj.

Cattle were priced by the maund, a traditional unit taken as 40 kg in Bangladesh; as traders and buyers described it, the count was an estimate of how much meat an animal would give. Bulls under 4 maunds were selling at Tk 32,000 to 35,000 a maund and bigger cattle at up to Tk 30,000, the report said. Buyers said up to Tk 32,000 a maund was manageable, but anything higher would be difficult.

Trader Nazrul Islam said he had paid Tk 1,35,000 for an animal expected to give 4 maunds of meat and would spend Tk 5,000 more, so under Tk 1.5 lakh would bring no profit. He expected small local cattle to reach close to Tk 40,000 a maund and big crossbred ones Tk 32,000 to 35,000.

Trader Sakiruddin said the market for large cattle had been soft for days: three animals of 8 maunds each were drawing no more than Tk 2 lakh, as fewer buyers came from Dhaka and elsewhere. Md Moktar, who had brought eight cattle of 3 to 6 maunds, said he had taken six bulls to the Tarabaria market two days earlier and brought three back. Prices should rise a little if trade picked up, he said, "but I can't tell where it will finally settle".

Rezaul Pramanik, from Koijuri Sripur in the Ataikula police station area, said cattle over 5 maunds were going for Tk 30,000 to 32,000 a maund and small ones for Tk 35,000. Offers for his bull of more than 9 maunds were within Tk 2.5 lakh. "There are hardly any buyers in the market," he said.

Sohan, from Nurpur in Pabna town, bought a bull of about 5.5 maunds for Tk 1,57,000 and was now worried about keeping it until Eid. Town resident Abdul Matin Khan paid Tk 2,75,000 for a black bull reckoned at 8 maunds, which the report put at more than about Tk 34,000 a maund. "Things for the sacrifice are not counted in money," he said.

According to the livestock department, Pabna needed 3,36,572 sacrificial animals in 2026, against 6,53,588 animals ready on 33,040 farms, including 3,79,177 goats. A Bangla Tribune report of 11 May gave the district's sheep at 62,385. The department said the surplus, double the local demand, would go to other districts. The same report put the animals ready across the eight districts of Rajshahi division at 43,05,628 against demand of 24,25,089.

Nationally, the Department of Livestock Services counted 1,23,33,840 animals ready for the sacrifice against demand of 1,01,06,334, a surplus of about 22 lakh, Bangla Tribune reported on 22 May.

District livestock officer Dr Md Zahurul Islam said animals were being traded at 25 permanent and temporary markets in the district. Sales had been slow at first but were starting to pick up, he said, and officials were watching that no excess toll was collected. Pabna Deputy Commissioner Aminul Islam said machines to detect counterfeit notes had been installed, police patrols increased at markets and on highways, and steps taken to stop excess tolls.

Photo: Wasiul Bahar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24 (23 May 2026), Bangla Tribune (11 and 22 May 2026), Prothom Alo (18 May 2026), Wikipedia (Maund)