Cows are being sold at Tk380 per kilogram live weight
Cattle worth Tk650cr sold in Chattogram ahead of Eid-ul-Adha
People are purchasing cows from farms by the live weight system to avoid the crowds at cattle markets in Chattogram ahead of Eid-ul-Adha. Some people are buying cows online, while some go to farms directly to buy cows.
Farm owners are selling cattle by measuring weight after the buyers select the animals.
In this system, both the buyers and sellers are happy and they also think that the risk of contracting coronavirus is lower by using this process.
In Chattogram, cows are being sold at Tk380 per kilogram by live weight.
According to the Department of Livestock Services in Chattogram, about 70,000 cows have been sold online and by live weight in the district so far. Their market value is around Tk650 crore.
People have bought 11,500 cows worth Tk115 crore online, and 58,500 cows by weight (live weight) on farms. The market value of the live weight sales is about Tk535 crore.
District Livestock Officer Md Reazul Haque told The Business Standard that this time buyers are giving preference to buying cows by weight from farms.
"Online and live-weight sales have quadrupled this year. Last year, only 5 percent of the cows were sold online," he said.
The target for total cattle sales in Chattogram district and the metropolitan area this time has been set at Tk3,490 crore. Last year, the target was exactly the same, he added.
Abul Kashem, a buyer, said that he was afraid to go to the cattle market to buy sacrificial animals because of the coronavirus infection.
So, he has bought a cow by live weight directly from Nahar Agro farm.
Imrul Hasan, another buyer from the Halishahar area of the city, said he could not buy the cattle of his choice even after visiting several cattle markets including Bibirhat and Sagarika cattle markets in the city.
So, he has bought a cow from a farm at live weight.
Monoj Kumar Chowhan, general manager (production) of Nahar Agro, a large dairy industry group in Chattogram, told The Business Standard that they planned to sell 250 cows online.
"Of these, 60 cows have already been sold. The buyers checked the cows online and bought them at Tk360 per kilogram through live weight," he said.
Iqbal Hossain, president of the Chattogram Divisional Committee of the Dairy Farmers Association, said this method of selling cattle is becoming popular in Chattogram.
"The sales will increase further in the last two days. Although selling cattle by live weight has not been so popular before, it has gained momentum since the coronavirus outbreak. A buyer can purchase a cow in 30 minutes in this process. And both the buyers and sellers make profit this way," he said.
According to the Chattogram Livestock Department, there is a demand for about 7.31 lakh sacrificial cattle this year in Chattogram.
Of this, 6.89 lakh sacrificial cattle have been produced in 3,500 farms of Chattogram. And some 41,000 cattle will arrive from other districts.