KP faces shortage of sacrificial animals

PESHAWAR: A good number of people could not perform the religious obligation of sacrificing animals on the first day of Eidul Azha due to the shortage of livestock in most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The people had to wait until the last day to purchase animals as the prices normally come down the day before Eid. However, numerous people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not purchase animals a day before Eid as the market faced a shortage of sacrificial animals.

Talking to The News, one Kachkol Khan said he had purchased the animal on Thursday at a very high price. He said he got the animal Rs30, 000 higher than the price in ordinary days.

He said stocks in the markets were low and that was why the prices sky-rocketed due to the high demands as everyone wanted to sacrifice an animal in Eidul Azha.

A resident of the Kohat Road, Sabir Khan, said that he and his cousin failed to buy a sacrificial animal before the Eid and they had to wait for two days to sacrifice an animal.

He said some people even bought animals from milk farms at very exorbitant prices.

A trader, Irfanullah, said last year traders had brought more than the required stock from Punjab which not only affected the market but also resulted in huge losses for the traders.

“Last year not only the cattle traders but ordinary people had invested a huge sum in the sacrificial animal business and suffered a huge loss as there were more animals than the demand,” he added.

The trader added that ordinary people stayed away from the cattle business this time and the traders were overcautious as well.

He admitted that some farm owners sold cows and buffalos as they were tempted by the high prices.

“The farm owners sold the animals on almost double of the market value and they would be able to increase the stock with this profit,” he added.

The owner of Nasirpur cattle market, Saeedullah, told The News that the market in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had faced a shortage of animals.

“Traders suffered losses last year and this fear of loss affected the business this year,” he pointed out.

About a query that the shortage was artificial, he said traders wanted to get rid of their stock as soon as possible because the delay increased the cost.

However, he said, the assumption that the prices of sacrificial animals were high was not true. He said that not only the cattle business but also prices had risen in every sector, adding that several factors contributed to the price hike.

Saeedullah said transportation cost had increased that was the major cause of the high prices.

The cost of transportation, fodder and labour has increased compared to the previous year, he said.