Cattle traders suffer huge losses amid low buyer turnout, poor offers

The appetite among people to spend big and buy big cows has been significantly low in this Eid-ul-Azha season compared with previous years, leading to major losses for a large number of traders in Dhaka.

Even in the final day before Eid, when business activities usually peak, the presence of buyers was very low in makeshift markets across the capital.

In the days leading up to Wednesday, buyer presence was relatively lower but still somewhat acceptable for the traders, who expected to cash in on eve of Eid-ul-Azha and make up for the low business activities.

But the hopes were dashed thanks to what experts believe are high inflationary pressures on consumers and eroding purchasing power. The turnout stayed dismal even on the morning of Eid on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the cow that sold for Tk2 lakh the previous day, was getting offers of maximum Tk1.30 lakh.

In some places, clients were offering Tk1.7 lakh for cows priced at Tk3 lakh. 

A large number of bovines remained unsold amid the acute low buyer turnout, and low offers of prices. In the morning on the Eid day, many traders went back to their villages with their cows -- and a huge financial burden.

Small cows drew some buyers but the large and mid-sized ones remained mostly unsold.

At the makeshift market in Kamalapur area, Shahidul Islam had brought 80 cows from his home in Alamdanga, Chuadanga. But on Wednesday night, almost all the cows remained unsold as buyers offered maximum Tk1.3 lakh for the cows priced at Tk2lakh.

Another trader from Jhenidah said he brought 10 cows from his village home and all remained unsold.

The picture was the same in the cattle markets in Kachukhet, Gabtoli, Aftabnagar, Bosila and elsewhere in the capital.