Sales of domestic animals meant for qurbani in the country have more than tripled to over 238,000 this year until a week before Eid-ul-Azha, according to the fisheries and livestock ministry data.
However, stakeholders have complained about harassment during the delivery of sacrificial animals that may have affected a potentially higher growth in sales.
Cattle heads (cows and buffaloes), and goats and sheep worth Tk 16.655 billion had been sold via online platforms between July 2 and 15. Sales of a total of 86,874 sacrificial animals valued at nearly Tk 5. 957 billion were recorded during the qurbani market in 2020 when online sales and purchase first got momentum amidst the pandemic.
This year, at least 1.59 million farm animals have been posted for sales on some 2,370 digital platforms, both private and public.
As authorities have relaxed the lockdown until the Eid holidays next week, permanent and makeshift markets may also see a surge in sales, according to officials.
“We expected higher sales of sacrificial animals online this year, though it’s better than last year’s. Hopefully, the major portion of the qurbani sales will be held online in the coming days,” director of the livestock department Debashish Das was quoted to have said.
The official suggested that the people who would be physically going to the cattle market have the scope to have a look at the online market for convenience.
Assaduzzaman Bhiyan Rubel (41), who set up Handshake Agro Limited in Gazipur in 2016, said he has reared 120 cows this year and already sold 102 via online.
“I didn’t go to the traditional makeshift market this time and I won’t go either,” he told The Financial Express.
A farmer from Dhaka’s Mirpur area, Saiful Quddus Rony, has sold 100 of 400 cattle heads he has reared this time. He has charged in a wide range of Tk 50,000-Tk 200,000 for each cow. His Green Farm House, which started with only three cows in 2013, had sold 50 cows via online last year.
A total of 11.9 million cattle heads and small animals are expected to be sold during this year’s Eid festival for qurbani, according to Dr. Shaikh Azizur Rahman, Director General (DG), Department of Livestock Services (DLS).
Data suggest there is an adequate supply of sacrificial animals both in online and traditional markets.
This time around, the official target of online sales of cattle heads and smaller animals has been set at 3.0 million, Mr. Azizur Rahman told The Financial Express.
Despite the jump in sales, the official pointed out, farmers are still struggling with the new system of posting their animals’ pictures on online platforms.
Moreover, Secretary of Bangladesh Dairy Farmers' Association Md Shah Imran said although farmers and traders are selling a good number of farm animals via online, they are facing various hassles and being harassed by extortionists on the roads and highways during delivery of animals to customers.
“To ensure a sales boom, authorities should take immediate actions against any criminal activities that hamper business,” he told the FE.
Still, Mr Imran expects, online sales and purchase would be manifold this year, since most of the customers would prefer maintaining social distancing to remain free from risks of coronavirus infection.
Dhaka North City Corporation also launched the country's lone digital cattle market on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the government opened a countrywide 'Digital Haat' (market) for sacrificial animals, run under the joint management of the ICT Division and the e-Commerce Association Bangladesh (e-CAB), in order to curb the spread of coronavirus. The link of the haat is 'https://digitalhaat.net/'.
E-commerce platforms have got massive response from customers, especially following the heightened risks of Covid-19, said Md Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of the e-CAB.
He added that as some platforms are offering complete qurbani service such as sales, slaughtering and delivery of meat, some customers are booking those services to avoid risks of infections.
Some 120 complaints lodged by customers with them have already been solved, the e-CAB leader mentioned.
