Ashraful Islam brought nine Nepali oxen to Gabtoli, the largest cattle market of the country, from Kushtia’s Kumarkhali on Wednesday, but failed to sell any.

“I have had only a few customers so far. We bought these cattle 9 months ago, and reared them with hard labour,” he said.

“I am charging Tk 6 lakh [600,000] for each ox weighing about 16 maunds [592kg] each. But buyers offered Tk 3 lakh [300,000] only,” said a disappointed Ashraful.

Priced between Tk 150,000 and Tk 600,000, foreign breeds of oxen such as Haryana, Red Sindhi, Deshal, and Nepali, are flooding the market. Most of the oxen are being transported from Manikganj, Kushtia, Rajbari, and Jhenaidah, by trucks and trawlers.

Abu Musa, another cattle trader from Kushtia, said he brought six Sindhi oxen on Wednesday (Aug 7), and did not sell any, mainly due to low offers.

“Nobody is even asking: ‘What cow is this?’” he said.

But Samad Hossain, who also came from Kushtia with six domestic oxen on Wednesday, sold four weighing 130kg each.

The scenario clearly shows that domestic cattle were in high demand with foreign breeds failing to draw the attention of buyers on Saturday (Aug 10), just two days before Eid.

Cashing in on the growing demand, cattle traders selling homegrown Bangladeshi cows are charging higher prices. Visiting the market, this correspondent found that rarely was any domestic oxen priced below Tk 50,000.

“My asking price was Tk 95,000, but I sold two of them for Tk 70,000 to Tk 72,000. I am asking for Tk 65,000 for the smaller one,” Samad said.

Of all the cattle, mid-sized oxen are in high demand in the market this year.

FALLING PRICES

Compared to what they got on Friday (Aug 9), cattle traders were being offered  lower prices.

Samad said: “They [the buyers] are offeringTk7,000 to Tk10,000 less than what was offered on Friday night for a small cow.”

The market management committee and cattle traders said prices were low compared to last year.

Without mentioning sales volume, they said turnover at the market until Saturday was lower compared to the same day a year ago.

Md Sanoar Hossain, a market management committee member, said: “Sales are a bit less than in the previous year and so are customers.”

RISING CUSTOMER TURNOUT

The number of customers increased on Saturday (Aug 10), compared to the previous two days.  However, few were buying, said cattle traders.

“People are looking around and occasionally asking for a price, but very few are genuinely interested. Everybody is waiting for the last day [the night before Eid],” said Md Nannu Khan, a farmer from Rajbari.

There are few goats for sale, mostly due to low demand.

Md Abul Hossain he had nearly 300 goats in his stock, each pricing from Tk6,000 to Tk50,000.

He said he sold about 100 goats on Saturday.

BUYERS SATISFIED

Mahmud Hasan, a buyer, said: “The prices are slightly high, but affordable. I bought a cow [ox] for Tk78,000 and I am satisfied with the price.”

Abu Baker, who was in the market looking for a foreign breed, said: “Cattle traders are asking for moderate prices, similar to last year.