Shift in Market Demand Leads Joypurhat Cattle Farmers to Favor Small and Medium Cows for Eid
Photo Collected
JOYPURHAT, BANGLADESH — As the sacrificial animal markets in Joypurhat begin to swell ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, a noticeable shift has redefined the landscape of the trading grounds. The massive, towering bulls that once dominated the headlines and drew massive crowds are largely absent this season. Facing soaring maintenance costs and an unpredictable market for premium livestock, local farmers have strategically moved away from giant breeds, choosing instead to focus their resources on rearing small and medium-sized cattle.
The catalyst behind this widespread shift stems from the severe financial losses experienced by farmers who previously gambled on giant bulls. Sagar Hossain, a cattle farmer from Akkelpur Upazila, shared his grueling experience of rearing a foreign breed bull for six long years. By Eid in 2024, the animal had reached a staggering weight of approximately 1,000 kilograms, prompting wholesale buyers to offer up to BDT 5.5 lakh at his homestead. Hoping for an even higher return, Sagar held onto the animal, only for it to go unsold that season.
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He was forced to transport the bull to Dhaka’s Gabtali livestock market the following year, where it fetched only BDT 4 lakh. During that additional year of rearing, Sagar incurred an extra BDT 1.5 lakh purely in feed and maintenance costs, resulting in a devastating financial blow. He noted that keeping giant cows has become unsustainable given the current price of cattle feed, adding that he no longer possesses the courage or capital to venture into large-scale rearing.
This sentiment is echoed throughout the entire district’s farming community. The exponential rise in the market prices of straw, bran, oilcake, husks, and green grass has made the upkeep of giant cattle an incredibly high-risk endeavor. Concurrently, consumer purchasing patterns have shifted dramatically; the vast majority of buyers now deliberately seek out budget-friendly, medium, and small-sized cows, leaving high-priced animals with very few takers. Another local farmer, Sumon Hossain, corroborated this trend, stating that after consecutive years of struggling to find buyers for his large bulls, he deliberately pivoted his farm’s inventory toward smaller, fast-selling weight categories.
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During the weekly market day at the prominent Newhat ground in Joypurhat town, this economic reality was fully on display. While trading commenced early in the morning, the market leaseholder, Shams Matin, observed that the era of giant showcase bulls appears to be over. He recalled how crowds used to flock to the market just to catch a glimpse of mammoth cows, whereas now, farmers are visibly afraid to bring them due to stagnant pricing. Instead, the marketplace has been heavily flooded with compact and medium-sized livestock.
Despite the drop in giant cattle, the District Livestock Office confirmed that Joypurhat possesses a massive surplus of sacrificial animals this year. A total of 326,573 sacrificial animals have been prepared across the district against a local demand of 203,350. With cows comprising the bulk of this inventory, authorities assure that the district is well-positioned to supply a significant volume of livestock to outer districts after fully meeting domestic demand.
Joypurhat District Livestock Officer Mahir Uddin stated that there is absolutely no shortage of supply in the market, with an ample volume of healthy animals ready for the festival. He explained that the department has actively taken steps to advise farmers and householders against rearing extraordinarily large cattle due to the high financial risks and disproportionate input costs. He added that massive animals weighing between 1,200 and 1,400 kilograms will be an exceedingly rare sight this year, as the government continues to counsel farmers on safe, cost-effective, and highly profitable scientific animal fattening methods tailored directly to real-time market demands.
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