PESHAWAR: Eidul Azha is less than a week away but the sale of sacrificial animals has yet to gain momentum in the capital city.

According to managers, sales at the city’s two cattle markets, one set up in Hazarkhwani area along Ring Road and the other on GT Road in Nasirpur area, are lower than those of last year.

They told Dawn on Saturday that around 100 animals, mostly oxen and buffalos, were sold daily though the number stood at around 200 animals during the last year’s corresponding period.

They said restriction on the supply of animals to Afghanistan was to blame for the trend.

Traders blame restriction on animal supply to Afghanistan for the trend

“Most of our customers are Afghan nationals, who take animals to their country for higher profits, but this time around, the ban of animal transportation has kept them away,” a trader said.

The district administration has banned the supply of sacrificial animals to Afghanistan for one month.

However, those with the federal government’s permit for the purpose are exception.

Every day, dozens of trucks carrying sacrificial animals reach the two cattle markets from different parts of the country.

Traders said the sales usually picked up steam around two weeks before Eidul Azha as Afghan nationals bought more and more animals for sending them to their country for higher profit but things didn’t happen like that this year due to the ban on supply of sacrificial animals to Afghanistan.

They said mostly, people bought animals a day or two before Eid and even some did it on Eid day for being unable to care for them.

During a visit to the Ring Road cattle market, Dawn observed that animals were few and so were the customers.

Traders said the contractor had increased the exit fee from Rs800 to Rs1000 each for buffalos, cows and oxen, and from Rs300 to Rs400 each for goats and rams.

“We’d expected that the ban on supply of animals to Afghanistan would bring down animal prices but unfortunately, this hasn’t happened,” a visitor said.

Haji Shamsuddin of Gulbahar, who led a group of buyers, said animal rates were higher than those of last year.

Trader Aseel Khan, who belongs to Afghanistan, said he had purchased dozens of animals but couldn’t supply them to Afghanistan due to the ban.

He said traders had permits but the police and Khasadar Force in Khyber Agency were creating hurdles to animal supply to Afghanistan.

“We have to spend at least Rs30,000 extra on the supply of one sacrificial animal from Peshawar to Kabul as carriage charges and payment of bribe to personnel of law-enforcement agencies at different checkposts,” he said.

The trader said the permit fee for animals had surged from Rs400 to Rs1,000 each this year and that the police asked animal traders for bribe despite having valid permit.

He said most traders in Peshawar markets belonged to Afghanistan but they were forced to shift their business to Quetta from where they could easily transport animals to their country for higher profits.

Traders Imdad Bacha of Peshawar, Ubaidullah of Mianwali, Khaisata Khan of Dir and Iqbal Khan of Kohat Road said they had seen an increase from Rs6,000 to Rs10,000 in the price of buffalo and ox this year.

They said higher grass price and carriage charges and payment of bribe to police at cattle markets were to blame for increase in animal rates.

“Our main customers come from Afghanistan but this year, the administration has banned the supply and therefore, the sales have come down in local markets,” a trader said.

Traders said the buffalo price was lower than that of ox and cow.

They said on average, healthy buffaloes and oxen were selling at Rs150,000 and Rs500,000 each respectively.

“We’d purchased sacrificial animals at higher rates in Punjab few months ago and spent a lot of money of their fodder in the hope of supplying them to Afghanistan for higher profit. However, our hopes were shattered after the government banned their transportation to Afghan areas and thus, causing us huge losses,” a trader said.

Traders said the government should allow animal supply to Afghanistan to prevent their losses.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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