With Eid cattle sales uncertain , Bhola dairy farms fear greater loss

Dairy and cattle farmers in Bhola, already reeling from a drop in the price of milk, fear even greater losses this Eid season as Covid-19 restrictions continue to limit cattle sales.

Despite suffering losses last year amid the pandemic, many farmers again invested in cattle in hopes of profit this year. 

But the ongoing strict lockdown threatens their expectations, with only a few days left before Eid-ul-Adha. 

However, government officials continue to be hopeful of good sales in these remaining days before Eid.

According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Bhola has over 1.67 lakh sacrificial animals in stock with a market demand of around 1.02 lakh for the upcoming Eid.

Mamata Dairy in Dakshin Dighaldi union of Bhola has reared 100 cows for the biggest cattle sale season of the year. But with no physical cattle markets allowed in the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown, the farm fears almost certain and significant losses.

"Last year, we failed to sell many of our cows due to Covid-19. The situation is worse this year," Iftarul Hasan Swapan, owner of Mamata Dairy, told The Business Standard.

He added, "I might still be able to avoid a loss if the government allows cattle markets to run under proper health guidelines."

It is the same for every other dairy farm in the district. Be it sacrificial animals or milk, it seems farmers are fated to suffer major losses, according to farm owners.

Abu Sayem, owner of Sadhadjahan Dairy, "My cheapest cow is valued at Tk1.2 lakh. I have cows worth Tk5 lakh on my farm, but the lockdown has put a stop to all my sales and shipments," he said.

Sayem's farm that also produces milk is already suffering losses from a lowered market price for  milk.

"I am buying fodder for dairy cows at Tk40 per kg and selling milk for Tk30 per litre. As you can see, I'm clearly losing a lot of money every day," he said.

Meanwhile, some farms had focused primarily on producing milk only, after having to sell their cows last year at low prices or not at all. 

Humayun Kabir, owner of RTN Farm, said last year his farm had to sell many of their 210 cows at far lower prices than their real market value. In order to avoid losses this year, they only stocked 10 cows for sale.

"We have 40 cows that produce around 300 litres of milk every day. That's how we have been paying our employees their salaries. But the price of milk too has taken a huge dive recently, coming down to Tk30 per litre from Tk50."

There is still some hope of surviving with the government having launched eight online cattle markets in the district for the sale of sacrificial animals, according to DLS officials.

"There is still much time left. If the government does not impose restrictions these days and if no  cattle comes in from India, then farmers can hope to see good cattle sales," said Indrajit Kumar Mandal, district livestock officer in Bhola.