Cattle traders at the capital’s sacrificial animal markets on Sunday said that trading activities were yet to gather pace, but they are expecting a significant rise in buyers from Sunday night and Monday morning, when the government holidays for Eid-ul-Azha begins.

Eid-ul-Azha, one of the largest religious festivals of the Muslims, will be celebrated in the country on May 28.

During visits to the permanent cattle market of the Dhaka North City Corporation at Gabtoli and Tejgaon Colony Bazar cattle market, traders said that buyers were visiting the markets and checking prices, but actual sales remained comparatively low.

A total of 22 cattle markets, including the permanent ones, have been operating in Dhaka under the supervision of the Dhaka North City Corporation and the Dhaka South City Corporation.

The markets, however, were already packed with sacrificial animals, including cows, buffaloes and goats, as traders from different districts brought in large volumes of cattle ahead of Eid.

At the Tejgaon Colony Bazar cattle market, trader Rafikul Islam, who came from Chuadanga with four cows from his own farm, said that his largest cow weighed about 9 maunds (only meat) and was priced at Tk 3.5 lakh, while the others weighed between six and seven maunds on average.

‘The market is still dull as the government holidays started only today. Hopefully, the market would gain momentum from tonight or Monday morning,’ he said, adding that many visitors were inspecting cattle but were yet to make purchases.

One maund is equivalent to near 40 kilograms.

At Tejgaon, the cattle market was not confined to the designated market area alone, as cattle-laden trucks and temporary trading spots spread across surrounding roads, including Love Road and the roads in front of the BSTI building, ENT Hospital, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, the Bangladesh Registry Office building and several notable private conglomerates’ offices.

Another trader, Babu Mondal from Sirajganj, brought 20 cows from his farm, with larger ones weighing about 7 to 8 maunds and smaller ones 4 to 5 maunds.

He said that the prices ranged from Tk 2.5 lakh to Tk 3.5 lakh.

‘In Dhaka, many customers usually buy cattle one or two days before Eid. We hope the market would pick up within the next two days,’ he said.

Babu also said that higher costs of feed, transportation and labour significantly increased overall cattle rearing expenses this year, pushing prices upward.

Nobin Mia, who travelled from Faridpur with eight cows, reported a limited presence of buyers.

‘Some customers mainly look for visually attractive cattle. But regular buyers are expected to come between May 25 and 27. We hope the market would start gaining momentum from tomorrow,’ he said.

He also said that traders were expecting good prices, but warned that failure to attract sufficient buyers could result in heavy losses.

Another trader, Almas Khan from Sherpur, brought 18 cows weighing between 8 and 18 maunds, with his largest one priced at Tk 6.5 lakh.

‘Government offices are closed from today, while some private offices may remain open tomorrow. Many people in Dhaka also have limited space to keep cattle for long periods. So, we expect the market to gain momentum within the next couple of days,’ he said.

He added that he had already sold two large cattle.

Meanwhile, traders at the Gabtoli cattle market also expressed similar concerns over slow sales despite a strong supply of animals.

Borat Ali Sarkar, who has been involved in cattle farming and trading for over 30 years, said that he and his brother brought 31 cows from Pabna and Sirajganj, priced between Tk 4 lakh and Tk 8 lakh.

He said that cattle rearing costs increased by about 15-20 per cent this year due to higher feed, labour and operational expenses, leading to higher market prices.

‘People are showing less interest in buying the cows at our expected prices,’ he said, however, adding that they hoped to recover the investments with some profit.

Hridoy Sheikh of Zakaria Farm said that he brought 80 cows from Jamalpur to the market on Wednesday, May 20, but managed to sell only two by Sunday.

‘There are buyers, but most of them are only checking prices and looking around. We expect the number of buyers to increase from Monday,’ he said.

Goat trader Malu Bepari, who brought 140 goats priced between Tk 8,000 and Tk 35,000, said that medium-sized goats priced between Tk 12,000 and Tk 18,000 were seeing relatively better demand.

He said that he sold 15 goats on Sunday with a small profit.

Nazrul Islam, a buyer at Tejgaon, said that he had yet to find suitable cattle, especially medium-sized native varieties, although the market was flooded with mixed breeds.

‘The prices are too high, I would observe the market and buy closer to Eid,’ he added.

Many customers were adopting a wait-and-see approach, expecting prices to ease in the final days.

Niamat Ullah, in charge of the control room at the Tejgaon Colony Bazar cattle market, said that law enforcement agencies and market volunteers were working around the clock to maintain security and discipline.

He said that the civil administration was also conducting regular monitoring visits and that adequate fake-currency detection machines had been installed at the market, alongside about 120 CCTV cameras for surveillance.

He also said that an ATM booth set up by IFIC Bank was helping facilitate transactions for traders and buyers.

On May 3, fisheries, livestock, and agriculture minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid told journalists that farmers and seasonal rearers across the country had prepared about 12.4 million sacrificial animals for this Eid-ul-Azha.

Among them are about 5.69 million cows and buffaloes, 6.63 million goats and sheep and more than 1,500 animals of other species.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, more than 91 lakh animals were sacrificed during Eid-ul-Azha of 2025 in Bangladesh.

Out of the total 91,36,734 animals sacrificed, 47,05,106 were cows and buffaloes, 44,30,668 were goats and sheep and 960 were others, said the DLS.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Ministry of Commerce opened a control room to ensure smooth management of sacrificial animal hides during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

Concerned people may contact the control room at 01617338067 for information or assistance, the ministry said.