For 60-something Lal Mohammad Palari, selling sacrificial animals that he brought from Jacobabad to Hyderabad’s annual cattle bazaar will help him meet expenses of his children for the next year.

A seasoned trader, Mr Palari brings his animals from upper Sindh’s Jacobabad district to Hyderabad, located in the central lower region of the province, on the eve of Eidul Azha every year for sale.

He brought seven animals to the bazaar this year and had already sold six of them one week ahead of Eid.

Like Mr Palari, a number of traders make it to the cattle bazaar, located off Hyderabad Bypass, every year to sell sacrificial goats, cows and bulls. Animal sellers from rural parts of the adjoining districts of Matiari, Tando Allahyar and Tando Mohammad flood the government-approved annual cattle bazaar.

“I had to bear losses last year due to heavy rains in the city. I sold my animals at a price that I never desired. Many buyers stayed away from the market because of heavy rains. Others offered unreasonable rates,” Mr Palari said. He said he felt delighted because the six animals that he had sold so far gave him a reasonable return on his investment.

The annual sale of sacrificial animals has emerged as a major enterprise for not only farmers from rural areas but also traders based in urban centres

Rains lashed the city a couple of days before Eidul Azha last year. Knee-deep rainwater, coupled with already poor sanitary conditions, prevented potential buyers from visiting the bazaar. As a result, traders like Mr Palari had to sell their animals at throwaway prices.

The annual sale of sacrificial animals has emerged as a major enterprise for not only farmers from rural areas but also traders based in urban areas who like to diversify their sources of income. After all, this business can be started with only Rs50,000.

Like Mr Palari, Khair Mohammad Samoon also anticipates better returns from the sale of his sacrificial animals this year. A resident of the Petaro area in the Jamshoro district, Mr Samoon believed sales had yet to gain momentum in the week before Eid. He planned to sell 25 head of cattle in the price range of Rs100,000 to Rs125,000. Those dealing in this business mostly buy cattle from Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Ahmedpur Sharqia. Some of the considerations are the beauty and health of cattle — something buyers always look for in their sacrificial animal.

“A red bull or cow, which is a particular breed, is usually available in Sindh. So we always prefer buying animals from Punjab,” Mr Samoon adds. People like him who belong to the rural areas use the income earned through animal sales for the purchase of more livestock. Sometimes, they invest the money in the farm sector ie they sow crops on a piece of land they acquire on a rental basis. This helps them diversify their annual earnings and improve their overall economic conditions.

Traders or businessmen based in urban areas also invest regularly in the annual trade of animals. Particularly in the last two decades, some urban traders have turned it into a regular source of second income.

Other than Punjab, they purchase cattle from rural areas in lower Sindh, like Tando Saindad, Sakrand, Saeedabad, Tando Adam and Chambar, a few months before Eid at relatively small prices. After rearing them on rented premises, they earn handsomely on the eve of Eidul Azha.

City-based businessman Tanseelur Rehman, who deals in betel nut trade, buys and sells sacrificial animals every Eid on the side to make an extra buck. Like others, he also buys cattle from the above-mentioned districts of Punjab. He tried to further diversify by investing in milk sale, but had to give up considering that the dairy business is too time-consuming.

Besides purchasing animals to be sold at an average market price of Rs80,000-100,000 on the eve of Eid, Mr Rehman also buys exceptionally expensive animals every year from Punjab to make handsome gains on their sale. He rears them at a pen he has set up on rented premises and sells them after one year. He doesn’t show these animals to conventional buyers before Eidul Azha.

“Buyers in Hyderabad don’t offer a good price for cattle sold for their beauty, size and overall weight. We usually get offers from certain pre-decided buyers who are mostly from Karachi,” Mr Rehman said. Such buyers then keep these cattle in decorated tents on display in Karachi before Eid, he added.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 27th, 2018