Cattle prices feared to skyrocket this Eid

Sacrificial animal prices may mark a 30-40 per cent rise during Eid-ul Azha, the Muslims’ second largest religious festival.
Traders, however, hinted at little possibility of hike in the cattle prices ahead of this Eid. The market price of each cattle increased by Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000 in respect of size.
Sylhet’s beef traders say the decline in imports of Indian cows has already impacted the market. In all the retail and wholesale markets, cow prices have gone up by 30-40 per cent.
“Beef is now selling at Tk 400 a kg in some city markets,” said Shamim Ahmed, President of Sylhet Meat Traders Association.
Beef demand was met by the local market over the past three months, but now the supply is dwindling, Shamim added.
“There is a grave concern that cattle prices would skyrocket during the coming Eid-ul-Azha,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has initiated to import cattle from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar to meet local demand for sacrificial animals, but it is not sufficient this time.
Traders claimed that the government had decided to import cattle from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar at the eleventh hour. For this reason, cattle price will be up.
The country’s livestock supply during the religious festival would remain low and its prices would be abnormally high if government steps fail this time, market operators feared.  There is a fear in general that many may not be able to sacrifice cow this time due to soaring prices and some may switch over to sacrificing goat.
A shortfall of at least 10 lakh cattle heads is feared.
This shortfall is expected despite assurances from the Department of Livestock that it has about 96.35 lakh cattle heads, including buffalo, goat and sheep, ready to go to the market ahead of Eid, due on September 24.
The cattle market will face the crunch, as the Indian authorities slapped a ban on export and smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh across the border.