Home ›› 17 Jun 2023 ›› Nation
The demand for sacrificial animals for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha may decrease slightly in Barishal division compared to last year, livestock officials said.
Experts predict the global recession and increase in commodity prices as the main cause of this. The officials also said there may be a change in demand at the very last moment.
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) Barishal divisional office, the demand for cattle in the six districts of the division was 4,98,937 in 2021-22.
The demand has slightly decreased to 4,11,029 in the current year which is about 88,000 animals less than last year.
Among the sacrificed animals in the six districts of Barishal in 2021-22 about 32,712 were bullocks, 2,28,334 were bulls, 8,341 were buffaloes, 1,34,634 were goats and 7,108 were sheep.
As of this year, till now 22,983 farmers of the division have one lakh sacrificial livestock including cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep. This does not include the number of saleable livestock owned by all households and noncommercial farmers.
Last year only local farmers provided more than 1.5 lakh cows suitable for sacrifice. As Eid-ul-Azha is at the end of this month, the count is yet incomplete and the number may rise.
Zahidur Rahman, the farm owner of Chandpura village in Barishal Sadar, said the buyers of the region are not used to buying cows directly from the farmers.
“Most of those who want to buy sacrificial animals do so from the traders at the animal market. Traders buy livestock from farmers and sell them at the animal markets for a high profit,” he said.
Patuakhli farmers have become more interested in taking their products directly to the animal markets instead of selling them to middle traders.
Farmer Siddique Mir from Patuakhli’s Kalapara upazila has raised two big bulls named Kalu and Chandu. He hopes to sell them at the sacrificial market for Tk 11 lakh and Tk 7 lakh respectively.
On the other hand, the farm owners are rearing cows, buffaloes and goats in the division for about nine months targeting the Eid market.
According to local farmers, the livestock is fattened up with natural food including straw and raw grass. Almost all the reared animals are ready to be sold at the sacrificial market before Eid.
Ilias Bepari, a cow farmer in the new Kalabagan area of Jhalakathi city, said, “I have fattened 20 cows at my farm using the traditional natural method. Traders have already bought six of them.”
According to Sujan Sardar, who runs a family-owned farm in Rupatoli area of Barishal City, the price of cow feed has increased significantly in recent years making livestock rearing a low-profit trade.
The current market price of a sack of wheat husk weighing 37 kg is Tk 2,200, last year it was Tk 1,800. A bag of 74 kg of mustard cake (sorisha khoil) is now about Tk 3,400-3-600, last year it was Tk 2,800.
The price of 50 kg of rice husk is Tk 900, last year it was Tk 700. Hay is now Tk 15 per kg, earlier it was Tk 10. Apart from this, the price of lentil husk has increased by Tk 10 per kg. The price of cow fodder has increased by 7 to 8 times in the last few years.
The daily wages of workers at commercial livestock farms were Tk 500 per day two years ago and now it has increased to Tk 750 per day.
Some farmers are still struggling to pay off the bank and NGO loans as they have yet to recover from the losses incurred during the pandemic. Due to low-profit margins, fewer farmers are becoming interested in commercial livestock farming.
Barishal DLS Director Dr Abdus Sabur said, “We think that more than 20 per cent of the cows may need to be supplied from outside the district. The remaining 60 per cent of animals will be procured from local farmers and 20 per cent from the household level.”
He expects domestic bulls to be more popular in the local markets if Indian cows are not imported.
