Buyers appeared to gain the upper hand in cattle markets across the capital on the eve of Eid-ul-Adha, as many traders struggled to sell their remaining sacrificial animals despite a large supply of cattle in the markets.
Visits to several cattle markets in Dhaka on Wednesday showed that buyer turnout remained relatively low, while many large and small-sized cattle were still left unsold.
Medium-sized cattle, however, were comparatively fewer in number.
Traders said prices had fallen compared to the previous day, with many sellers being forced to lower their asking prices to avoid taking cattle back home after days of waiting in the markets.
Hazaribagh cattle market associates said buyers across different segments were paying nearly 20 per cent less than Thursday’s prices.
Al Amin, a volunteer at the market, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Cattle of the same size that sold for around Tk220,000 yesterday are now being sold for Tk170,000 to Tk180,000.”
“Today feels like the buyers’ day,” he added.
Nizam Hossain, who brought seven cattle from Netrokona, said four had been sold while three still remained unsold.
“The cattle that I expected to sell for around Tk100,000 is now receiving offers of only Tk70,000,” he said.
Another trader, Nayeb Ali from Pabna, was still waiting for a buyer for his last remaining cow.
He said he was asking Tk220,000 for the animal, but buyers were offering far less.
“Once I sell this cow, I will head back home,” he told TIMES.
Ali said the large cow had already been in the market since Saturday after being transported from Pabna, making it nearly impossible to take the animal back due to the physical stress it had already endured.
“If someone offers a reasonable price, I will let it go even at a loss as I have profited from others,” he added.
Salman, a trader from Manikganj, said three out of his five cattle remained unsold.
“These cows were already valued at around Tk150,000 in my local area. I brought them to Dhaka hoping for better prices, but here no one is even offering Tk140,000,” he said.
He added that transportation alone cost him around Tk3,000 per cow, while daily feeding and care expenses continued to rise inside the market.
“If I sell at the prices buyers are offering now, I will face a significant loss,” he said.
Some buyers, however, expressed satisfaction with the lower prices.
Sadman, who purchased a cow from the market, said he was happy after buying his preferred animal for Tk150,000.
“There is no winning or losing in buying sacrificial cattle, but traders had been holding prices high for days. A fair deal for both sides is always better,” he said.
Many traders blamed poor weather for the sluggish business conditions.
Hasan, another seller, said continuous rain over the past two days had significantly reduced buyer turnout and also caused suffering for the animals.
“Although there was rain in the morning, the weather is better now. We hope more buyers will come to the market after evening,” he said.
A similar picture was seen at the Gabtoli cattle market, where many traders had already reduced prices to attract buyers.
Shakib Ahmed, a resident of Mohammadpur, said bargaining at traditional cattle markets remained part of the Eid experience.
“However, traders are refusing to lower prices. In that case, buying live-weight cattle from local agro firms seemed like a better option,” he told TIMES.
At Kamalapur and Postogola cattle markets, large-sized cattle also remained mostly unsold as traders waited for a late rush of customers ahead of Eid.
The sharp decline in cattle prices on the final trading day in Dhaka’s cattle markets was also seen during Eid-ul-Adha in both 2024 and 2025, according to traders.
Sellers said demand for large-sized cattle has been falling steadily over the past two years.
Traders noted that cows priced above Tk200,000 once accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the market, but that figure has now dropped to around 10 per cent.
Despite the reduced supply of high-value cattle, many traders said they were still struggling to attract buyers for larger animals.
Several traders said they had expected demand for big cattle to recover this year due to various market factors, but that expectation ultimately did not materialise.
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), the country remains well supplied ahead of Eid.
Demand is estimated at 1.01 crore animals against a supply of 1.23 crore, leaving a surplus of around 22 lakh animals.
