Eid to generate Rs325 billion this year

KARACHI: This year, Eid-ul-Azha is estimated to generate economic activities of around Rs325 billion in Pakistan, as the faithful are to slaughter around 7.3 million animals in three days of the religious festival, said businessmen and traders on Thursday.
The monetary value of the animals would come to around Rs275 billion. And the activity of another over Rs50 billion would be recorded through trade of the animals' hides and exports of value-added leather goods, they said.
"People are to slaughter 2.5 million cows, four million goats, 800,000 sheep, and 30,000 camels," estimated Muhammad Ali, secretary at Pakistan Tanners Association, on the basis of their hide collection this year.
An official at Karachi's super highway cattle market said majority of cows were sold at Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 each, goats at Rs20,000 to Rs35,000, and camels at Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 each.
The sale of animals remained robust throughout this week "perhaps because of increase in purchasing power...and despite of the fact that prices of animals were higher this year than the last year," he said.
"Hardly five to 10,000 cows are left out of over 225,000 brought here from rural areas; 10,000 goats of total 80,000 brought, and some 1,500-1,700 camels are left against 2,200 brought at the market," he said.
A trader said that prices of animals were high this year because the cost of their feed has gone significantly high over a period of time.
"A healthy animal {cow} consumes feed of roughly Rs10,000 a month," he said, adding this was costing around Rs3,000-3,500 per mouth about a couple of years ago.
He added the price-hike has convinced many cattle farmers to give hormone-boosting injections to give them a healthy look and earn higher prices. "Who can afford to feed Rs1,200/kg almonds and other dry fruits to grow healthy animals," he said.
Ali said export of raw hides and their value-added leather goods from sacrificed animals during the year would attract proceeds of around Rs47 billion {against full-year proceeds at Rs118.56 billion last year.
"The sacrificed animal hides would meet some 40 percent need of the full-year's {FY16} demand in the tannery industry," he said.
Tanners would spend six to seven billion rupees to purchase the hides on this Eid, he added.
According to the Economic Survey 2014-15, agriculture accounted for 20.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) whereas livestock contributed 56.3 percent to agricultural value.
Besides, the Eid would earn significant amount to the allied industries, including fodder, wood work, butchery, animal decorations, and knife sharpeners. Raza Ahmed, a knife sharpener said, he only resumes the business weeks ahead of Eid, as the season earns him an amount equivalent or more than the one he earns during the rest of the year.