Traders with unsold cattle in hot water after frustrating Eid sale in Dhaka

Many traders who brought cattle from outside the capital but failed to sell those before the Eid-ul-Azha were still waiting for customers at the markets in Dhaka on the Eid day.

They had borrowed heavily on high interests to buy the cattle heads months ago and planned to make profits by selling those in the capital.

Now they will need more money to take the unsold cattle back and keep those until the market gets ‘normal’ after the consumption of the Eid cattle meat.

Some were waiting at the makeshift cattle market at Uttara for trucks to haul the cattle back.

Nawshad Ali from Chanpainawabganj brought 27 cows he had bought on loans early on Saturday.

“No-one even asked about the price on that day. I managed to sell seven in the following two days by calling the customers,” he said.

Prices of cattle dropped on Tuesday due to a ‘lack of customers against huge supply’ despite India’s ban on cow exports.

“Where will I go now with these 20 unsold cows? Where will I keep them? What shall I feed these? How shall I repay the loans?” he muttered, searching for answers.

“It seems fewer cattle were slaughtered in Dhaka this year than last year even after the prices dropped,” said Abdur Rahim, who brought 20 cows from Kushtia but managed to sell only four at a loss.   

Golam Mostafa from Rajbarhi, and Kausar Ali and Nurul Amin from Chuadanga had a similar story to tell.

“I don’t have the money to buy food for my family. How shall I feed the cattle?” he asked.

Before the Eid, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Narayon Chandra Chanda said India’s ban on cow export has led to a boom in cattle production in Bangladesh.

Over 23.2 million cattle are slaughtered in Bangladesh every year - half of these during the Eid-ul-Azha, according to the livestock ministry.

Bangladeshi farmers always demand a stop to cow import from India -- where slaughtering the animal, revered by many devout Hindus as semi-divine, is banned -- to get fair price of local cattle.

Customers in Dhaka had alleged from the beginning of the trading of cattle for the Eid that the traders were charging more than usual prices.

Trading, however, was upbeat on Sunday and Monday when the customers did not mind buying cattle at higher prices fearing that a supply crisis due to lack of cows from India would push the prices up.

But traders continued flooding the Dhaka markets with locally bred cattle on Monday night and Tuesday, and the huge supply led the prices to drop.