Home ›› 03 Jul 2022 ›› Front
The online trade of sacrificial animals gained significant steam in Bangladesh during the last two years, and peaked as the government banned physical cattle markets across the country as part of Covid-19 restrictions.
Alongside various e-commerce platforms, Digital Haat – an initiative launched by the Bangladesh government – helped boost online sales of cattle during those Eid-ul-Azha seasons – the second largest festival of the Muslim community.
However, traders who enjoyed this upward trend now fear a significant loss in sales during this Eid-ul-Azha season.
Speaking to The Business Post, Bangladesh Dairy Farmers’ Association (BDFA) President and also the owner of Sadeeq Agro Firm Md Imran Hossain said, “We are getting online orders, but not enough compared to last year.
“If we compare our sales figures year-on-year, it would show that our sales till date is less than 10 per cent this season.”
He continued, “I think the decline in online sales of sacrificial animals has been caused by two factors – the decrease in Covid infections and the waning interest among people to buy their sacrificial animals from any online platform following the Evaly and E-Orange scams.
Md Salauddin, owner of IMAM Cattle Farm BD in Sirajganj, said, “Although people inspect the price and size of sacrificial animals online, they also come to my farm in person to buy cattle.
“The Covid situation has improved in the country, so the buyers are showing less interest in buying sacrificial animals online compared to the last two years. We are currently making only 25 per cent to 30 per cent of our sales online.”
Digital Haat from Sunday
The Digital Haat will be inaugurated from Sunday, which is a bit late compared to the previous years.
Providing more details, e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) general Manager Jahangir Alam Shovon said, “Among the 100 registered sellers, fifty are with the e-CAB, and the rest registered through Ekshop for dealing sacrificial animals online this Eid season.
“Our platform is ready, and we will launch operations from Sunday. Digital Haat will allow customers to purchase cattle directly from different online platforms, and they can make purchases through advance payment.”
He continued, “Customer can either buy cattle or can get their animals slaughtered. With this option, we will deliver meat to the customers’ doorstep on Eid day.
“Last year, the platform operated as digitalhaat.net, this year it will be digitalhaat.gov.bd. The government is taking over the platform from us this year, but all operations will remain the same.”
Speaking about projected sales this year, Jahangir said, “I think sales this year will not hit the scale we saw last year. In 2021, around 3 lakh – 3.5 lakhs cattle were sold, but this year, it might reach only around 1 lakh – 1.5 lakh. We will see what happens.”
Pervez Reza, a brisk cattle trader who intermediates among cattle farmers, traders and customers, uses his own transportation for delivering cattle during rush hours and takes commission whenever a deal is made.
Sharing his experience, he said, “I settled many online deals for sacrificial animals in the last two years, but it was tough to impress my customers. People prefer buying cattle after inspecting those in person, as this tradition is ingrained in our emotions and culture.
“Though it is difficult to visit any cattle market a few days before Eid, many are happy to do so. The situation was different during the last two years. The online sales increased only due to the ban on physical cattle markets before Eid and the presence of the Digital Haat.”
Meanwhile, Dhaka North City Corporation has inaugurated digital transactions at six cattle markets – Gabtali, Basila, Aftabnagar, Bhatara, Kawla, and Uttara Sector 17 – on Wednesday to mitigate the risks of people carrying large amounts of cash.
As part of the initiative, one digital payment booth will be set up in each market, where buyers can pay the seller through POS, mobile financial services, QR codes or withdrawing cash from ATM machines through credit and debit cards.
MasterCard, Visa and American Express will operate the card scheme as payment partners at those six markets.
There will be six commercial banks as lead banks for setting up and operating digital payment booths. These are Bank Asia, BRAC Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Eastern Bank, Islami Bank, and City Bank. BKash and Islami Bank mCash will act as mobile financial service providers.
