With Eid-ul-Azha approaching, the animal market at Rajshahi's traditional City Haat has come alive, crowded with farmers and buyers from the district's upazilas. Farmers say that, with their means and family needs in mind, many buyers are leaning towards medium cattle.

A visit to the City Haat on Thursday afternoon, 21 May, showed bigger crowds in front of medium cattle than big ones, with particular interest in cattle priced between Tk 80,000 and Tk 1 lakh. As well as local cattle brought from various districts, there is an ample supply of medium farm-raised cattle, so buyers are finding what they want and sellers are hoping for good sales.

People involved say Rajshahi is not a big commercial city like Dhaka, and middle- and low-income people make up a larger share of its population. Known as an education city, it is also home to many teachers, salaried workers and members of civil society, many of whom find medium or small cattle more suitable for sacrificing on their own. So most buyers are leaning towards medium cattle, weighing their means and needs.

Small cattle are also selling well. With limited budgets and small families in mind, many are buying cattle priced between Tk 70,000 and Tk 80,000, and low- and middle-income buyers are showing more interest in them because they are relatively cheap.

Anisur Rahman Milon, an official of Rajshahi University, bought a medium cow for Tk 1 lakh 5 thousand. He told Jago News: "In the present market it is hard for many to buy a big cow. So, considering the size of the family and the budget, a medium cow seemed best. I found the cow I wanted at the market, and the price is fairly reasonable."

Shamim Patwari, who came to look at medium and small cattle, said big cattle were much more expensive than before, so most people were turning to medium ones. "Quite a few good cattle are within our budget too," he said.

Farmer Kamal Mia came to the City Haat from Chapainawabganj with about 35 medium and small cattle. "Understanding the Rajshahi market, I brought more medium and small cattle this time," he said. "They are selling faster than big cattle, and buyers show interest when they hear the price."

Another farmer, Abdul Khalek, said: "Although feed and transport costs have risen, we have prepared mostly medium cattle, keeping buyers' purchasing power in mind. Cattle weighing 3 to 5 maunds are in highest demand this time."

Farmers say that because demand in Rajshahi is for medium cattle, part of the big cattle has been sent to large markets in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, but there is still an ample supply at the City Haat. Market leaseholders say sales will rise further as Eid draws nearer, but for now both buyers and sellers are satisfied because supply is good.

According to the district livestock office, 463,011 animals have been prepared for sacrifice in Rajshahi this year: 104,841 cattle, 3,425 buffalo, 311,339 goats and 43,406 sheep. Against this, the district's demand is about 371,058 animals, leaving a surplus of about 92,000 that will be sent to other districts.

District livestock officer Dr Md Atoar Rahman said local farmers once suffered because of Indian cattle coming in. This time extra surveillance has been put in place at the border so that cattle cannot enter illegally, and the administration is working to protect local farmers' interests. He added that because supply in the Rajshahi region exceeds demand this year, the market is expected to stay stable, and surveillance and monitoring at the markets have been stepped up.

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