With only nine days remaining in the second Muslim Holy ritual Eid-ul-Adha, the prices of the sacrificial animals are registering an upward trend as a sacrifice this year seems merely a dream for many salaried and middle-class families.
A market survey conducted in interior Sindh revealed that this year the prices of sacrificial animals have gone double as compared to that of last year.
A buffalo and cow are now being sold for Rs.460, 000-600,000 in the different localities of Sukkur.
“The total sale of sacrificial animals these days is around 50 against 300 cattle last year,” said a businessman of cattle Muhammad Naeem.
He said he has so far received about 1000 cattle from Punjab and Sindh provinces and I expect more from other provinces as Eid-ul- Adha become closer.
These days, he said, most of the buyers just come, ask about prices and then return empty hands, he remarked.
He said that he refused the offer of Rs 240,000 for his ox named “Shera” as he was demanding Rs 300,000 for it at Ali Wahan area of Sukkur.
However, middle-class circles feared that due to the high prices of other commodities, the rates of sacrificial animals would also remain out of reach of the general public.
Meanwhile in Punjab, the price of a normal size goat, sheep, or lamb ranges from Rs 65,000 to Rs 75,000, whereas a medium-size cow and calf ranged from Rs 140,000 to Rs 300,000. Transporting animals from south Punjab to cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi or Faisalabad had gone a pricey affair,” Israr Gopang, a livestock breeder from Dera Ghazi Khan, said. When asked to comment on the high prices, he replied that last year a truck carrying animals to Lahore from Mithan Kot and Dera Ghazi Khan would cost Rs 48,000 to 50,000, but this year transporters were demanding around Rs 95,000 to 100,000 for the same task.
