Baa! Sheep prices scramble uphill for Bakrid

Chennai: As Muslim households in the city began the countdown to Bakrid, sheep and goat prices were already in blastoff mode, rising by as much as 70% well before the festival on Saturday.

Traders noted that this would be a temporary phenomenon and that prices would stabilise after the festival, also known as Eid al-Adha, but on Friday, the price of the Potla variety of the livestock from Andhra Pradesh and Telanganarose above Rs 10,000 per head, dealers in Saidapet, Periamet and Royapettah said.

The variety commands a high price because each animal guarantees between 15kg and 20kg of meat.

Goats and sheep also arrived from Karnataka, including that state’s popular breeds such as Bannur and Deccani and the exotic Jamunapari crossbreed that costs between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a head.

“People prefer the Potla breed as the meat is tastier than that of farm-bred varieties,” cattle trader Hyder Ali said, comparing the Potla variety to “country chicken [‘naatu koli’]” and the farm-bred animals to “broiler chicken”.

“The price of a Potla sheep last year was between Rs 6,000 and Rs 9,000,” said Shafi Mohammed, scanning roadside shops in Royapettah while shopping for the festival. “Traders are charging up to Rs 12,000 per animal.”

The high prices have not deterred members of the community from purchasing as many as 20,000 animals of different varieties to celebrate Eid al-Adha — “feast of the sacrifice” in Arabic, traders in the city reported.

“This is a religious duty for us,” Teynampet resident Syed Ashfaq said. “We have no choice but to pay the price. Traders say their cost price has increased because of a rise in transport and other costs.”

Tech savvy traders are also selling sheep and goats online, on sites such as Quikr and OLX, a trend that started three years ago.