PESHAWAR: The soaring prices are showing no letup in just three days ahead of Eidul Azha as the faithful in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are poised to sacrifice 4.24 million animals on the religious ritual this year. Despite higher prices, thriving online markets and improper sanitation and other arrangements, a great rush of visitors was witnessed on Monday in the makeshift animal markets, particularly those on the Ring Road on both the southern and northern peripheries of the city. The prices spiral this year surged by 30 to 40 percent raising the rates of small animals like goats and sheep from average Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 and Rs25,000 to Rs35,000. The prices of big animals like bulls, cows and buffalos also recorded similar surge. The cows and bulls, which last year were selling for Rs60,000 to 70,000, are priced Rs80,000 and Rs100,000, respectively this year. However, these biggest markets in the city were not featuring any high-end or “centerpiece” cow and bull, except for few bulls and “Bulkhi” sheep, purely meant for the elite class to buy, were seen on the “ramp walk” at the markets. The prices of most of these animals ranged from Rs50,000 to a whopping Rs1,00,000. One of the vendors at the northern Ring Road near the Dilazak Road roundabout, when asked as to why the prices had risen this year while diesel prices had been lowered by over 30 percent, said it was not easy for them to bring in their animal stocks due to the measures of the Punjab government to present the movement of animals out the province. The calves and bulls from Shahiwal and other areas in southern Punjab always remained favourite for most of the buyers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Eidul Azha, but this year they (vendors) faced numerous difficulties and had to pay extra charges to bring these animals, he said. Another trader, Ajmal, still expected the low sales and reduced profit margins as like previous year, the families and acquaintances were planning to buy larger sacrificial animals for collective “Qurbani”. He added that customers, visiting these main markets, were contented with only window-shopping who used to say that the costs of taking care, fodder and silage for animals were still not affordable for them. According to the data of the Livestock and Dairy Department, the faithful are likely to slaughter 4.24 million animals that include 1.75 million large animals like cows, bulls, buffalos, camels and 2.49 million small animals such as goats and sheep. The digital era, like all other spheres of life, has cast great impact on the animal sale and thriving online marketers are more hopeful for a better sales figure this year. Even some global online marketers have posted free classified of sacrificial animals with a vast range of prices. Web pages of OLX, Qurbanionline, etc are featuring finest animals for the buyers, who tend to avoid hours-long haggling and other inconveniences in the markets. The online animals’ prices range from Rs25,000 for a 25 kg goat to Rs 42,000 for a 45 kg goat, while many organisations have set the welfare alms rates at Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 for goats and Rs49,000 to Rs72,000 for calves and cows, depending on where the sacrifice would take place and the weight and size of the animal. The prices in the animal markets may rise in the next two days, yet these quoted prices are expected to remain fixed till Eid.
