Cattle markets in the city have started seeing scattered buy and sell activities on Wednesday afternoon, but the traders had a look of utter disappointment on their faces while the customers expressed satisfaction over the price level.
As only two days left for the Eid-ul-Azha, the customers have started coming to the haats (markets) though not in an expected number. It might take a bit more time for the market to get busy, market insiders said.
According to the traders, leaseholders and customers, the buying spree may start in the haats from Thursday as people will try purchasing their animals on the single visit.
Besides, the supply of cattle to the makeshift cattle markets (haats) in the capitalis relatively low this year compared to the previous years and the markets can still accommodate a significant number of animals.
Market insiders said the demand for sacrificial animals has dropped as the coronavirus pandemic has taken away many people's ability to perform qurbani (sacrifice).
Moreover, many middle and higher middle income families, who sacrifice animals alone, may perform qurbani this year on share, while many others are also unwilling to sacrifice considering the risks of coronavirus infection.
Visiting three haats of Hazaribagh, Aftabnagar, and Meradia in the city, the FE correspondents found cattle traders still waiting for customers while few people were taking purchased animals home.
Md Jamil, a hasil (tax) collector at counter no-3 of Hazaribagh haat, said only 20 cows were sold out from the morning till 4:30 pm on the day.
A trader from Mirpur Upazila of Kushtia at the haat, Farid Uddin Mandal, who raised a Sindhi bull for last three and a half years, said: "I spend around Tk 250,000 on the bull and will sell it at Tk 300,000."
However, nobody so far bid over Tk 180,000 for the bull and the trader will take it back to the farm if it is not sold at the desired price.
Meanwhile, a group of traders were found gossiping about the price trend at the haat. One of them Md Atiq from Tangail told the FE: "Many of the cattle traders who had taken preparation to come to Dhaka may postpone their decision due to low demand of animal."
He also said that if the current price trend continues, many traders, especially seasonal ones, will have to count losses this year.
Adiat Mitab, a customer who bought a cow at Tk 63,000 before tax from Aftabnagarhaat, said, "Our budget matched with the asking price of the trader as we bargained it down from Tk 70,000." Another interested buyer, who was passing by, commented that the price seemed lower than that of the previous two years.
According to Department of Livestock Services (DLS), some 5.5 million cows and 6.0 million goats, sheep and buffalos have been reared at the cattle farms in different districts ahead of the eid.
There are more than 0.52 million cattle farms in the country which now rear cattle commercially.
DLS estimated that nearly 10.5 million cattle were slaughtered in the country last year, almost 50 per cent of them during the eid.
Yafes Ahmed Sami, the leaseholder of Hazaribagh haat, told the FE that it was expected that the number of customers would be lower this year due to the effect of the pandemic.
"But at the current trend, we are concerned about recovering the lease money as the haat is still half empty and market turnout is not that satisfactory so far," he said. However, he expected the buy and sell to keep up from Thursday afternoon.
The bifurcated city corporations, Dhaka North and South, have leased out a total of 18 haats this year, nine less than last year, considering the risks of coronavirus and low demand.
