Over 22 lakh animals remain unsold nationwide

Abdus Sattar, who had come from Shibganj in Chapainawabganj, brought 38 cattle to the capital's Gabtoli market for sale. Of those, 16 remained unsold. On the morning of Eid day, he was spotted at the market searching for a truck to transport his remaining cattle back home.

As the supply of sacrificial animals far exceeded demand this year, prices had begun falling in the early hours before Eid day.

Like Abdus Sattar, trucks loaded with unsold cattle were seen leaving various livestock markets across the capital on Eid-ul-Adha day.

At Gabtoli, Kamalapur, Diabari, and other temporary markets, rows of large cattle were also seen waiting until the very last moment.

With few buyers in sight, many sellers offloaded their animals at heavy losses while others were forced to take them back home. During the last Eid-ul-Adha, more than 9.1 million animals were sacrificed nationwide.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had earlier projected demand of 10,106,334 animals this year against a stock of 12,333,840 — comprising 5,695,878 cows and buffaloes, 6,632,307 goats and sheep, and 5,655 animals of other species.

Preliminary figures from the Department of Livestock suggest that just over 10 million animals were sacrificed, meaning roughly 2.2 to 2.3 million remained unsold.

Speaking to TBS, a Department of Livestock official said approximately one crore animals were sacrificed this year, though final figures have not yet been confirmed.

Acting director general of the Department of Livestock, Md Shahjahan Khan, said the tally is still being compiled and will be announced at a press conference once offices reopen after the Eid holiday.

At Gabtoli market, Savar-based Jahan Agro Farm brought nine cattle. Farm owner Syed Zulkar Nain Hossain said he had arrived at the market on 26 May but managed to sell only one animal, taking it at a loss simply to avoid transport costs, and had to bring the rest back to the farm.

Between 8:30am and 11:30am on Eid morning, sellers were seen loading unsold cattle onto trucks one after another, while some were still searching for transport.

Cattle trader Mohammad Lavlu from Manikganj said he had brought 44 cattle but could sell only 13.

Abdus Sattar noted that a cow quoted at Tk 3,80,000 two days before Eid was sold for Tk 2,70,000 on the day itself. "I had bought on credit and had debts to repay — I had no choice but to sell at a loss," he said.

Farmers and traders attributed part of the problem to days of rain and muddy conditions, which raised the risk of animals falling ill if kept at the market. Many accepted significant losses rather than risk losing their livestock altogether, with some reporting losses of over Tk1 lakh per animal.

Buyers, on the other hand, were relieved by the falling prices. Customer Mohammad Fardin said he bought a cow for Tk 2,70,000 that had originally been quoted at Tk 4,20,000. Another buyer, Sahed, noted that prices had started dropping the day before Eid, bringing some relief to ordinary consumers.

Even after 11am on Eid day, thousands of cattle remained unsold at Gabtoli. Traders said that while supply was adequate, the absence of expected buyers at the last moment triggered a sharp price decline beginning from 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

Farmers also pointed out that cattle from India and Myanmar typically enter border districts six to eight months before Eid, are fattened at various farms, and then released onto the market during Eid, creating a structural imbalance in the supply-demand chain.

Interviews conducted with approximately 100 traders, farmers, and consumers over three days at multiple venues identified a combination of economic and structural factors behind the low sales volumes and subsequent price crash at Gabtoli.

A primary driver was declining public purchasing power — soaring commodity prices and broader macroeconomic pressures forced many families to significantly cut their festival budgets, opt for smaller animals, or participate in joint sacrifices.

This drop in demand was compounded by an enormous domestic supply, as vast numbers of cattle were transported to Dhaka from across the country, creating a severe retail glut when sellers failed to anticipate the scale of the influx.

Sellers also highlighted a sharp decline in high-value buyers. In previous years, affluent political figures, prominent businessmen, and influential individuals regularly purchased ten to fifteen large cattle priced between Tk 5,00,000 and Tk 6,00,000 each.

However, current socio-political shifts left several such buyers absent from the market, drastically reducing large-scale purchases.

This structural shift was compounded by the calculated behaviour of ordinary consumers, many of whom deliberately delayed purchases until Eid morning or the final night in anticipation of a price drop — placing immense liquidation pressure on traders.

The situation was further aggravated by allegations from some sellers that cattle were illegally smuggled into Bangladesh through various border points in Thakurgaon.

These animals were reportedly crossed into the country at night and rapidly dispatched across the country by truck, contributing to domestic price depression.

Additionally, the growing popularity of digital platforms and decentralised neighbourhood markets drew significant consumer traffic away from major traditional hubs, leaving Gabtoli with historically low footfall.

Faced with rising transport fares, labour costs, and the mounting overhead of feeding and housing livestock at an urban venue, many traders ultimately chose to absorb heavy financial losses on-site rather than bear the added expense of transporting unsold animals back to their farms.

Malik Mohammad Omar, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Dairy and Fattening Farmers Association, told TBS that around 20% of the animals brought to market this Eid remained unsold.

From late 2025 until just before Eid, animal feed prices were at their highest level on record. Yet farmers ended up selling cattle at the same prices as last year — and two to three days before Eid, prices fell even further. Many could not even fetch the same price for their Eid cattle as they would have received during Ramadan.

Rezwanul Haq Shahin, a resident of the Amail area in Shajahanpur upazila of Bogura, had been raising a cow for nearly two years with Eid-ul-Adha in mind.

Due to the wide gap between asking and offering prices, he was unable to sell the animal at the Eid market.

His cow, weighing 16 maunds, was priced at Tk 5,50,000, but buyers offered only Tk 4,00,000 to Tk 4,50,000.

Shahin said that given the cost of rearing the animal this year, selling at that price would mean a significant loss — so he chose not to sell. Left with an unsold animal, the farmer is now deeply anxious, his days overshadowed by a single question: when, and how, will this cow ever be sold?