3 days ago
Ludhiana: Goat market sees strong demand ahead of Eid ul Adha
Business at Ludhiana's goat market is improving ahead of Eid ul Adha, with sellers experiencing a rise in demand after a post-pandemic slowdown. Customers are observing a 30% to 40% increase in prices, and some goats are selling for as much as ₹75,000.
Mohammad Kallu from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh has been coming to Ludhiana for Eid ul Adha for over last five years now and this time he has already sold more goats than what he brought here last year.
'The business had been slow after the pandemic for two to three years. I can recall that last year I brought around 160 goats and by the end of the season I had around 15 left which I took back. But this year, with two days still to go I have already sold 200 goats,' said the 43-year-old trader.
The market is full of goats from half a dozen breeds including to burbura, dogla, totapuri, and bamdoli.
Meherban Ansari from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur has also been selling goats here for around half a decade and he too has been more business this year. He's also sold more goats than the total he had brought last year.
'Last year I brought around 50 goats but the business was slow and I had to take back around 20 of them. But this year I have already sold 40. I have brought 80 goats in total this year,' he said.
His biggest sale so far has been a dogla goat which weighed around 120 kg and sold for ₹75,000.
The increased demand has affected the prices as well.
Arshan Jamal, 38, said that the goat that would be available for around ₹25,000 was costing around ₹35,000.
Another customer at the market, Mohammad Ahmad Ansari lamented that last year he had bought a 25-kg goat for just ₹15,000, but this year he had to shell out ₹22,000 for a 24-kg goat.
While all breeds were in demand, bamdoli and dogla were the most popular with the buyers.
Trader Mohammad Kallu said the reason behind this was the meat yield in the varieties. He said that a bamdoli weighing around quintal gave in between 60-70 kg of meat.
This year Eid ul Adha will be celebrated on June 7.
