Cattle markets in the city and nine upazilas in Khulna district have gained momentum, as two days left for Eid-ul-Azha, the second-largest festival of the Muslims.
Cattle market operators said apart from the local traders, the wholesale cattle traders continued to send livestock to the markets in the city and upazilas from different districts in the division.
A total of 157 traditional and makeshift cattle markets, including the KCC's Zoragate cattle market, have been set up, and 136 medical teams have already been formed for the cattle markets in the division.
"This year, the availability of sacrificial animals is higher than last year. So, there is no shortage of cattle supply to the markets, though there are no imported cattle available in markets this year," Azad Hossain, a cattle trader in the city’s Nirala Prantika area, said while talking to this correspondent at Zoragate cattle market on Friday.
But market observers and buyers said the prices of cattle are slightly higher than the previous year, as the price of a medium-size cow ranged from Taka 1,50,000 to Taka 3,50,000, and a goat is being sold between Taka 35,000 and Taka 60,000.
Shazahan Mia, owner of ‘Shazahan Agro Farm’ located in the city’s Nirala Prantika area, told BSS today, "I have brought 23 cows to Zoragate cattle market. The price of my small-size cow is Taka 1,20,000 to Tk 1,60,000, and the price of my medium-size cow is around TK 2,50,000 to 3,00,000."
Traders attributed the higher price to the soaring price of animal feed and transport costs.
Sheikh Palash, a businessman in the Kalibari Ghat area, said, “I have come to Zoragate cattle market to buy a medium-size ox. But the price is a little bit higher than last year.”
“Price will be declined on the day before Eid day, as I witnessed sufficient supply," he hopped.
Talking to BSS, Panel Mayor of KCC Rafiuddin Ahmed Rafi and also Secretary General of the KCC's cattle market said KCC earned over Tk 2.19 crore selling over 6,020 sacrificial animals last year at KCC's Zoragate makeshift cattle market.
He hoped KCC would earn over Taka 2.75 crore from the sale of over 12,000 sacrificial animals this year.
Director of the Khulna Divisional Livestock Department, Dr. Nurullah Md. Ahsan, said a total of 9,26,209 sacrificial animals were sacrificed last year in the division.
According to the Livestock Office, the demand for sacrificial animals in Khulna division this year stands at 11,06,532, but this year, farmers of the division reared 16,19,417 sacrificial animals targeting Eid-ul-Azha in the division. Market operators installed adequate currency screening machines in all the cattle markets to detect fake currencies.Additional Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police Sarder Rakibil Islam said, "We have taken three-tier security measures, including close circuit cameras, at the Zoragate cattle market."
"Besides, we have introduced a flawless traffic management system to ease traffic congestion in and around the market in the city," he added.
