Hyderabad: The Eid Al Adha festival also known as Bakri Eid is around the corner and the sheep market at Jiyaguda – one of the biggest in the city – is a beehive of activity. Traders from different States in India are bringing in sheep and goats to sell for the festival.
On average, about 5,000 sheep are sold at the market every day to attend to consumer needs that include restaurants, hotels, hostels, and regular households. During the Bakri Eid festival the business multiples several folds with sacrificial sheep and goats reaching the market from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and other states.
“In Bakri Eid daily around 10,000 sheep are sold at the market and outside. The price escalates by Rs. 200 a kg. The price on Friday is Rs 650 a kg for live sheep,” said Rajesh, a trader at Jiyaguda market.
Traders argue that usually, the sacrificial sheep cost a little more than regular sheep because of certain specifications like the age of the animal and health condition. “Shepherds segregate the sacrificial sheep from their herd and keep rear separately for Bakri Eid and demand more price for it,” said K Karan, a shepherd from Nalgonda district.
A sheep yielding 10 kgs of meat will cost about Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 in the market.
At other markets at Golnaka, Gowlipura, and Secunderabad, the arrivals of sheep are encouraging. “In the next three to four days the arrivals will be doubled. Now only some middlemen brought the animal to sell for Bakri Eid. From Monday onwards, the shepherds and cattle breeders/ rearers will bring their animals and start selling. It will be sold at a competitive price because from far-off villages sheep are brought to the city due to good road connectivity,” said Irfan, an agent at Golnaka.
In local temporary markets that come up at Tolichowki, Khilwat, City College, Chanchalguda, Falaknuma, Pahadishareef, Rajendranagar and Yakutpura groups of youngsters are setting up their camps. The youth are purchasing the sheep from different districts directly from the shepherds and bring them to the city.
“Usually, we sell the animal at a margin of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1200 each. Profit margin is less sometimes because we want to sell more cattle heads and make the least possible profits on investment citing the religious sentiment attached to the festival,” said Hameed, who runs a mobile phone store at Chandrayangutta.
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