The online sales of sacrificial cattle for Eid-ul-Azha have increased several folds in the comparable period of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) stated that cattle worth nearly Tk 1 billion are being sold at digital markets across the country every day, reports bdnews24.com
Last year, more than 27,000 cattle were sold every day at digital markets amid the pandemic.
The e-CAB informed that a total of 288,068 Eid cattle worth Tk 18.65 billion were sold online till Saturday.
The figure is likely to rise in the coming days before Eid-ul-Azha.
A total of 817 animals were sold directly from the Digital Haat platform, a joint initiative of e-CAB, the government and Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association, while another 262 were booked, e-CAB General Secretary Md Abdul Wahed Tomal said on Sunday.
“We’ve received a better response than we did last year. We're anticipating more sales today and in the next two days,” Tomal said.
President of Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association, Md Imran Hossain said, “Many people are opting for purchasing cattle online. We’ve sold cattle several times more than last year.”
The Digital Haat services also include processing the meat of the cattle and delivering them at the doorsteps of the customers.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh has 11.9 million cattle ready to be sold for Eid-ul-Azha sacrifices.