12.4 million animals ready for this year's Qurbani, there will be a surplus of 20 million

It is known that the supply of sacrificial animals in the country will be much higher than the demand, focusing on this year's Eid-ul-Azha. According to the Department of Livestock (DLS), 12.4 million 47 thousand 337 animals have been kept ready in 887 thousand 544 farms in the country. According to preliminary estimates, even after the sale of animals, there will be a surplus of about 20 lakh 68 thousand animals.

According to the forecast of the Department of Livestock, the potential financial value of animal sales in this year's Qurbani is about 67 thousand crore taka. Of this, animals worth more than 10 thousand crore taka can be sold on online platforms, which is a significant progress compared to previous years.

Rajshahi division is leading in supply. There are 43 lakh 44 thousand 49 animals ready here, which is about 35 percent of the total supply. There are 19 lakh 74 thousand 74 animals in Chittagong division and 14 lakh 34 thousand 587 animals in Khulna division. Rajshahi, Chittagong and Khulna - these three divisions will provide about 70 percent of the country's total sacrificial animals.

Fisheries and Livestock Advisor Farida Akhtar said, "This year's sacrificial animal will be possible only with domestic animals. Local farmers have turned around, production has increased. As a result, there is no need to import animals. Strict surveillance and precautions have been taken to prevent the entry of illegal animals."

She also said that instructions have been given to ensure the safety of sacrificial animals at the field level. Security measures will also be ensured at the animal market. Overall, the economy of this year's sacrificial animal is expected to exceed one lakh crore taka.

According to experts, 60 to 70 percent of the country's total skins are collected during the sacrificial animal sacrifice. This time too, skins of about one crore animals may be collected, which will make a big contribution to the leather industry.

Meanwhile, cattle production in the country has increased significantly through artificial breeding. About 5.577 million animals were artificially bred in the last fiscal year. Of these, 38 lakh 81 thousand cows and heifers and 16 lakh 96 thousand calves were produced. In addition, the amount of semen produced from breeding bulls was 45 lakh 47 thousand doses.

Former Director General of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) and agricultural economist Dr. Jahangir Alam Khan said, “The actual demand may be higher than the government’s assumption. To increase effective demand, the price of animals must be made more bearable.”

Overall, this Eid sacrifice is going to be completed with animals produced by domestic farmers and it is expected that there will be no crisis or need for import of sacrificial animals. The country’s livestock sector and farm-based economy will make a big contribution to Eid this time.