<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Despite a significant quantity of sacrificial animals on the market, animal prices have remained high due to continuous economic pressure from inflation, and an increase in the price of animal feed.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The impact from multifaceted macroeconomic pressure can be seen in the country's Eid animal markets, especially in the capital, where the price of animals is at least 20% higher than last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, due to the enormous expansion in the number of cattle farms in the country, there is a trend in the market to sell animals in kilos, and ordinary consumers also want to buy in kilograms to coordinate their wants and budget.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the Department of Livestock, the total number of reared animals to be sacrificed is 10.25 million 36 thousand and 333, a figure that is 411,944 higher than the previous year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the prospective demand for sacrificial animals this year is 10.03 million 94 thousand and 739, implying that more than 2.1 million animals will go unsold.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While visiting the Gabtoli cattle market, one of the capital's main cattle markets for sacrificial animals, we saw a lukewarm turnout of people. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Mohirul Islam, a cow salesman from Kushtia, there are no suitable customers for the animals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We are waiting for the momentum, currently people only come to the stall to ask prices and leave,” he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among his five cows, he has one cow for Tk9 lakh, for sale. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bangladesh Dairy Farmers' Association (BDFA) President Imran Hossain said that they had enough stock of sacrificial animals. However, the traders will have to wait till Eid to really see how sales will be. The prices for the sacrificial animals might increase by 5%-10%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cost of cattle feed, medicine and other ancillary costs have also increased pushing up the cattle prices, he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the buyers from the Gabtoli cattle market said that the price has increased more than 20% from last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nahid Hossain, a buyer from the capital's Mohammadpur area said that the price of the animals increased abnormally this year, roughly more than 20%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I came here looking to buy a cow for around Tk70,000 but couldn't find one in that  price range,” he added, saying that it costs Tk90,000-100,000 to buy a similar cow he bought in 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both buyers and sellers said that the demand for medium-sized animals increased due to inflation and other economic pressures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shahidul Islam, a seller from Rajshahi, arrived with seven cows, including one of the biggest ones in the market, for which he is asking Tk15,00000. He says that demand for large animals is low and that customers prefer medium or small-sized animals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both sellers and buyers are looking for some momentum in the cattle markets on Tuesday and Wednesday, so they can get a good deal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sellers stated that with only two days till Eid, the market may pick up because capital dwellers normally come to the market later because space is a major problem for them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, offices will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, so the number of buyers may increase in the coming days, they noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, some buyers said that as there are sufficient supplies of the reared animals, the price may go down in the coming days and they are waiting for this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Election year</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Eid-ul-Azha will be the last Eid before the national election, thus market insiders anticipate that demand for sacrificial animals will rise as possible candidates purchase more animals for public relations purposes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the BDFA president, because it is an election year, the sale of animals is projected to be slightly higher than in previous years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Digital cattle market</div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the Covid-19 pandemic, the online shop "Digital Haat" for sacrificial animals was launched and the site is expected to sell 50,000 sacrificial animals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This animal sale initiative was launched by the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab), Ekshop, as part of the government's Aspire to Innovate (A2I) project.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, the central bank has initiated "cashless" transactions in 10 cattle markets in Dhaka and Chittagong as part of the "Smart Bangladesh, Smart Haat" project to eliminate security concerns in areas where animals may be purchased using a credit card.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Measuring weight</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Setting prices according to the weight of the cattle is gaining popularity in recent years, according to the BDFA. The price was established by live weight or live animal weight in the previous year, ranging from Tk460 to a maximum of Tk475 per kg.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year, it began at Tk 480-Tk500 per kg for a cow. Buyers can now purchase animals by live weight online as well as directly from the market, however, this is more common at farms.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Consumers, on the other hand, stated that the price of a cow at live weight is Tk500-Tk550 per kg.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This year, city corporations have 19 animal markets in Dhaka city (10 in North and 9 in South). The markets like Meradia, Vatara, Bosila, Eastern Housing, Lalbagh, and Dania also provided similar information.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">breakingnews/ka </div>