Dhaka: The cattle markets in the capital ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha are still in favour of the traders as there has been lower inflow of sacrificial animals so far due to inclement weather and late supply from the neighbouring India.

Visiting some cattle markets around the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, this UNB correspondent found out that the smaller cows (around 2 maunds or below) were selling at Tk 25,000- Tk 35,000, while those weighing around 3-4 maunds at Tk 45,000-55,000.

But, the cattle prices still remain uncertain for the last 24 hours as the sale got the momentum only on Wednesday afternoon.

“The buyers were the gainers last year as the traders sold their cows at very low price. People are still keeping their last year’s experience though the beef price has shot up to Tk 400 from Tk 270 per kg in between a year,” said Nazmul Hossain, a cattle trader from Sathia upazila, Pabna, who have brought 17 bulls to the capital’s Aftabnagar cattle market.

“If we have to sell our cattle at last year’s prices, we’ll count huge loses this year, too,” he added.

Another trader Shah Alam form Santhia Upazila told UNB that the buyer flow is still a little bit of low in the market as they are looking for price drop like the last two years.

Talking about cow fattening, he said cattle feed price increased a bit this year as Khoil (oil cake) is selling at Tk 2400 from Tk 1800 per 75-kg sack; per maund lentil bran selling at Tk 1300 from Tk 1000 while a herdsman has to spend at least Tk 10,000 on a middle-size cow for organic fattening for six months after purchasing it at Tk 35,000.

“We’re asking for Tk 65,000 to Tk 70,000 for a middle-size cow while the customers are saying almost half of our price,” said the elderly cattle trader.

Sultan Pramanik, a cattle trader from Ullapara, Sirajganj said, “We’ ll sell a small-size cow at a profit of Tk 5,000 but the price the customers are offering is not even close to our investment.”

Abul Hasem, an engineer to Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), bought a cow at Tk 74,000 at Aftabnagar cattle market. He noted that cattle price is quite high this year though compared to the meat price it is not excessive.

Pointing to his middle-large size cow, he said, “Last year, I bought a cow of similar size at Tk 60,000, but considering the current meat market situation I’m pretty happy.”

Cattle prices were a bit high on Wednesday afternoon at Rupnagar cattle market in the city’s Mirpur area as the traders have sold out large portion of their animals.

Many of the traders are expecting a crowded market on the last two days - Wednesday and Thursday—ahead of Eid and they are hoping a good profit as the flow of Indian cattle is still inferior to the market.

Fearing a sudden rush of Indian cattle, they said the availability of imported cattle will affect the market similar to last year.

The cattle traders, buyers and animals are intensely suffering for continuous rain and muddy land as there has been no let-up since Sunday.