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Cattle sales in city get momentum

Supply of artificially fattened bulls low

Helemul Alam
With the Eid-ul-Azha only a day away, city cattle markets saw a brisk sale of sacrificial animals yesterday.
Traders were charging a little higher for their bulls than last year. The customers, though, seemed mostly satisfied with the prices.
There is a shortage of big bulls in the markets. A cattle trader from Manikganj, Md Sirajul Islam said as a campaign is underway against use of steroid and hormone in fattening bulls, many traders did not dare to bring their big bulls to Dhaka for fear of punishment and loss.
Demand for mid-sized bulls was very high in all the 18 cattle markets, induding the permanent one at Gabtoli, in the capital. Selling between Tk 40,000 and Tk 80,000 each, their supply was also abundant.
"I tried to bring some bulls worth Tk 4 lakh each to the market from Faridpur, but didn't find any of that size. There is a scarcity of big bulls this year due to the campaign against fattening of cattle," said trader Poroshmoni at Dhupkhola cattle market.
He brought 125 bulls from Faridpur two days ago and has already sold 26, including four atTk 3 lakh each.
To attract buyers to his cattle, Imran Hossain, owner of Sadique Agro, has hung a banner in front of his tent at Sadeque Hossain Khoka cattle market in Dholai Khal, Gandaria. He has announced a reward ofTk 5 lakh for proving the presence of any steroid or hormone in his cattle.
Cattle sales
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"I've 60 big bulls and cows which have been fattened on organic feed," claimed Imran. Until yesterday, he could sell only she.
The supply of goats in the markets has been quite good, but their prices are a little higher compared to the last year.
Hasan Sheikh has brought 26 goats to Sadeque Hossain Khoka cattle market from Gopalganj. Some other traders from the district have brought around 2,000 more.
"I've already sold three goats and hoping to sell the rest for good prices, "said Hasan.
SPECIAL FROM MIRKADIM
Rahmatganj cattle market is the city's only market where traders from Mirkadim, Munshiganj, sell a special variety of cow after rearing those for around eight months with extra care.
Mirkadim cows are being sold at the market for about five decades. This year, 150 cows have been brought to the market yesterday. The supply reached 3,000 only a decade ago, said traders.
They attributed this year's poor supply to low import from India and rise in prices of cattle feed.
The meat of this Rajasthani breed of cattle is extra tender and has a distinct flavour. The cows are all white with a
in city
reddish tint. Even their eyebrows and horns are white, making them look quite different from a distance.
With such attractive features, it is no surprise that each Mirkadim cow would sell at prices between Tk 80,000 and Tk 90,000, almost double the price of an ordinary cow of the same size. Even some of them will cost up to Tk 2.5 lakh each.
"We rear the cows with special care. They are fed jau rice [specially cooked ricej and grounded maize powder," said Mofizur Rahman, chairman of Mirkadim Municipality, who brought 25 cows to the market.
VETS
Though there was a decision by the government to assign vets the task of checking the presence of steroid or hormone in big bulls, there were no such activities yesterday in any of the city cattle markets.
Veterinarians from city corporations and the Department of Livestock gave primary treatment to sacrificial animals at the markets.
Abdur Razzak, a vet of Dhaka South City Corporation, said two teams of the corporation were offering primary treatment to animals as the DSCC does not have enough equipment and manpower to check all the animals.