Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, buyers are largely depending on the digital platforms to get their desired sacrificial animals for the imminent Eid-ul-Azha.
According to the E-commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab), some 200 e-commerce companies and about one thousand farms are selling sacrificial animals online this year.
This time the government has also made a policy for purchasing sacrificial animals online. As a result, more animals will be sold on the online platform this year comparing to the last Eid season, hopes e-Cab.
Iftekhar Islam, a businessman from West Rampura of the capital city, said every year he buys his sacrificial animals from cattle market going there physically. In the current situation of shout down and pandemic as well, he has decided to buy his sacrificial animals online to avoid health risks.
Animals are sold on digital platforms by government and private enterprises. These online portals have pictures and videos with detailed descriptions including the weight and age of the cattle. Interested buyers can have a look at the different animals through video calls. Buyers can determine or negotiate the price of the animal by talking to the seller online.
According to e-Cab, the sale and purchase of animals online began four years back but has become institutionalized recently. People concerned said that buying and selling online will be more orderly this year since the government has made a policy in this regard.
E-cab secretary Abdul Wahed Tomal in a recent webinar said, “This time we have developed our system for the online buying and selling of sacrificial animals. As there are a good number of options, we are hopeful that buyers will have a satisfaction upon buying cattle from online platforms”.
According to the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association, some 27,000 sacrificial animals were sold online last year. Cows were the top choice of capital-centric buyers. They expect this number to cross 1 lakh this year.
Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association president Imran Hossain said, “Immediate after the beginning of the online sales of sacrificial animals, we are having good responses from our buyers. They are paying advance to get their desire cattle from online market.”
Although the 21st of July is the probable day of sacrifice, the sale of animals has just started. Buyers can book any of their chosen animals by paying 10 to 25 percent advance payment. These animals will be delivered one to two days before Eid as per the wish of the buyer, according to e-Cab.