#Title

Online cattle sales rising ahead of Eid
FROM PAGE B1
also received tremendous response for its shared qurbani service, which allows up to seven people to split the cost of a sacrifice.
It already sold 30 cows to clients through the sharing method.
Like in the last few years, sacrificial animals are being sold online this year, said Mohammad Shah Emran, general secretary of Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association (BDFA).
However, there will be more sales of goats than cows this time around because people are spending less amid the economic downturn, he added.
The trend of purchasing sacrificial animals online started in 2020 due to the strict countrywide lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19.
“It’s true that online purchase of qurbani cattle decreased last year after the severity of the virus waned,” said Md Reajul Huq, director (admin) of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS).
“But as many people got accustomed to purchasing animals online since the pandemic, many are still opting to buy qurbani cattle online,” he added.
According to the DLS, about 45,000 sacrificial animals were sold online in 2020.
In 2021, about 4 lakh cattle were sold online for Eid-ul-Azha while it was 70,000 the following year.
About 1 crore animals were sacrificed across the country last year, as per data from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Of this figure, 46 lakh were cattle.
This year, a total of 51,298 animal pictures have been posted on 646 online platforms as of yesterday. Of these, 9,063 animals have already been sold as of June 22.
Among the divisions in Bangladesh, Chattogram has the highest number of published animals with 24,273. Following closely is Dhaka with 12,916 animals.
However, in terms of online platforms, Dhaka has more options with 162 platforms, while Chattogram has 139 and Rajshahi has 113, according to the DLS.
Huq said about 1.4 crore animals are expected to be sold centring Eid this year.
The e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), with technical assistance of the A2I, launched a digital platform -- digitalhaat.gov.bd -- that allows customers from across the country to purchase sacrificial animals.
The haats supervised by the DLS and other makeshift local markets have joined the digital market platform this year.
Along with that, the convenience of purchasing cattle online using digital payment methods has been introduced for expatriate buyers. The Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association is assisting in this initiative.
“Over the past three years, we have engaged nearly 10,000 farmers in this process,” said Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of e-Cab.
“They have sold livestock in various ways online, and many have also reaped the benefits directly. Keeping the concerns of farmers, online entrepreneurs, and customers purchasing sacrificial animals in mind, we have continued this initiative without interruption,” he added.