“Trader brothers, do not panic or become frustrated. Please remain patient; customers will come after evening,” an announcer was heard saying repeatedly over loudspeakers around 4:00pm yesterday at Kamalapur cattle market.

The reason was clear: many cattle remained unsold while the number of customers was noticeably low.

Traders said many had already incurred losses, especially those who sold cattle on Tuesday, while prices dropped further on the final trading day.

During visits to cattle markets in Kamalapur, Shajahanpur and Tejgaon, a large number of cattle were found to have been sold, but traders were struggling to attract buyers for the remaining animals.

“Our owner, Abu Sarkar, has already incurred a loss of Tk 1 lakh after selling three of his six bulls because he did not get the expected customers on Tuesday. However, the situation is worse today as the number of customers is very low compared to the number of cattle,” said Mohammad Muslim, caretaker of six bulls brought from Jamalpur.

He said the owner was deeply frustrated and might have to mortgage his land to repay farmers who had provided cattle on credit.

Mohammad Rabbi, a trader from Tangail who brought 14 bulls to Tejgaon cattle market, said they had so far sold nine but incurred losses amounting to Tk 22,000.

A similar situation was seen at Kamalapur and Shajahanpur cattle markets, where traders reported a sharp fall in prices amid low customer turnout despite a large number of cattle arriving since Tuesday night.

According to traders, the steepest fall was seen in larger cattle valued above Tk 1.5 lakh, with some animals losing between Tk 1 lakh and Tk 2 lakh in market value. Cattle priced above Tk 1.5 lakh reportedly declined by around Tk 30,000, while those valued below Tk 1 lakh saw prices drop by Tk 20,000-25,000.

At Kamalapur market, trader Al Amin from Bogura brought two cattle for sale. He said one animal had already been sold at a loss of Tk 10,000, while the second one, bought for around Tk 80,000, had received offers of only up to Tk 55,000.

He claimed prices had fallen by another Tk 10,000-15,000 compared to the previous night.

Another trader, Miajul Islam from Tangail, brought a one-tonne cow that he bought two years ago for Tk 1.5 lakh. He said he had spent more than Tk 6 lakh raising the animal and had initially sought Tk 12 lakh for it.

On Tuesday night, the highest offer reached Tk 7.1 lakh, but by yesterday the top bid had fallen to around Tk 5.1 lakh, leaving him facing significant losses.

Akmal Hossain from Kushtia arrived with nine cattle and managed to sell three on Tuesday night with small profits. However, he is now struggling to sell the remaining six.

One cow bought for Tk 2 lakh received an offer of Tk 1.85 lakh on Tuesday night, but by yesterday offers had reportedly dropped to around Tk 1.5 lakh or lower.

He expressed concern over incurring substantial losses on multiple animals.

Meanwhile, some buyers benefited from the falling prices.

Shakil Hossain from Manda said he had been unable to perform Qurbani over the last few years due to financial constraints. A cow that had been priced at Tk 75,000 the previous day was eventually sold to him for Tk 45,000.

“I was ready to sacrifice a bull on share, but after finding one within my budget, I bought it on my own,” he said.

Traders at Shajahanpur cattle market reported a similar scenario, saying the market remained overcrowded with cattle while customer numbers were very low.

Many sellers said they had waited for long periods without making sales, increasing uncertainty and pressure during the final hours of trading.