Although many buyers are now thronging the cattle markets in Bera upazila of Pabna to buy sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, farmers are not happy with their prices.
Many farmers have expressed their disappointment, saying that the rearing cost of sacrificial animals has increased this year due high fodder costs but they are not getting fair prices.
C&B (Chaturhat) cattle market in Bera upazila of Pabna is considered as the largest sacrificial animal market in the country’s northern area. Eid-ul-Azha, the second biggest religious festival of the Muslims, is just a few days away, people from different upazilas and districts are now bringing cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats to the market for sale. The market sits twice a week -- Saturday and Tuesday. Besides Chaturhat, there are permanent and temporary cattle markets at Nakalia, Kashinathpur and Nagarbari.
Farmers have expressed their frustration over not getting the desired prices even though the markets are crowded with buyers. Most of the buyers think it is a hassle to buy animals before several days and take them home. For this reason, most of the buyers will buy the sacrificial animals one or two days before Eid.
Meanwhile, as the demand for cow in the local cattle markets is lower than the last time, traders and farmers of different areas in the upazila are taking their cows to different cattle markets in the country, including in the capital, by boat and truck.
On Tuesday, this correspondent talked to Azgar Ali, who came to buy a cow at C&B Chaturhat cattle market from Nalbhanga village.
He said, “I have bought a bull for Tk 1.4 lakh. The meat will be approximately 6 maunds. But compared to the last year, the price of sacrificial animals is lower this year.”
Solaiman, a cow seller at the same market, said demand for medium-sized cows is always high. So this year, medium-sized cows have to be bought at a little higher price from the farmers.
As Eid is approaching, more people are visiting the cattle markets to buy cattle. The sellers are hopeful that more buyers will gather at the sacrificial animal markets in the upazila at the last moment. If sacrificial animals are imported from India and Myanmar, all small and big farmers will face losses, said the farmers and traders said.
Meanwhile, with the touch of digital information technology, many people are showing cows to their relatives at home and abroad through smart phones and they are choosing the cattle after seeing the animals on video calls. Apart from this, many people are taking pictures of cows and sharing them with their relatives.
Sattar Bepari, a farmer who is living in a char area of the upazila, said he has been rearing cows for a long time in the hope of making a profit, but this year the price of cows is relatively low. Traders are not buying sacrificial animals from markets and villages like other years due to fear of loss. “If Indian cows do not come to the market, then we hope to get a fair price for our indigenous cows.”
Bera Upazila Livestock Officer Dr Md Mizanur Rahman said the free veterinary medical team is working round-the-clock at every cow market. Besides, one day training has already been given to imams and butchers on slaughtering of sacrificial animals and waste removal. In this upazila, 3,350 farmers have prepared 88,765 cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep for sale.
