28 November,2009 07:20 AM IST | | Varun Singh
Supply exceeds demand, slashing prices of sacrificial Eid goats by at least 50 per cent over lastu00a0year
There has been over a 50 per cent drop in the prices of sacrificial goats for Bakri Eid this year. The costliest goat up for sale at the Deonar abattoir is Rs 5.5 lakh.
Last year, the same goat came with a price tag of Rs 8 lakh, but couldn't find a buyer.
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The owner Ashfaq Ahmed from Shivaji Nagar is still struggling to find a price despite the 68 per cent drop.
"If I don't find a buyer till Saturday, I will reduce the price to Rs 2.5 lakh, and if even that doesn't work, I will slaughter the goat on the third day," said Ahmed.
The reason for the steep price tag is because the goat seemingly has Allah, Mohammad and Ali as markings on its back.
Big drop
Another goat dealer Imtiyaz Shaikh, who had brought goats especially from Ajmer, had to reduce his price by 40 per cent to find buyers.
But it hasn't helped. "I bought a goat for Rs 50,000 from Ajmer [called Ajmera] and I spent a couple of thousand rupees transporting it to Mumbai.
I thought I would do great business, but now I am not sure whether I will be able to recover even my basic expenditure. Everyone here has slashed rates up to 50 per cent," said Shaikh.
Badam, bistar
Another goat priced at Rs 2.5 lakh has come from Agra and it too hasn't found a buyer.
People come to see it, but no one buys it, said Mohammed Qureshi, the owner of the goat who has spent 10 years doing business in Deonar.
"I feed the goat cashews, almonds and other dry fruits; it sleeps on a cot and is treated royally.
The goat weighs nearly 300 kilos and is 8-ft from head to tail. I know that it deserves the asking price, but I'm ready to slash the price to Rs 1.5 lakh if I don't find a buyer," said Qureshi.
No marriage
Another goat dealer even had to postpone his marriage. Yasin Godiwala (26) came to Mumbai 15 days ago with 10 goats and camped at Deonar hoping to make at least Rs 8 lakh.
He has made just Rs 4 lakh with one more goat to sell. His marriage is indefinitely postponed.
"I have been waiting for more than four years to get married and I thought this was my chance to make enough money, but now how can I marry her?" asked Godiwala.
He added, "There were not many buyers and I just grabbed whatever deal I got." The goat business across Mumbai runs into over Rs 100 crore during Eid.
Dr A D Jadhav GM, Deonar Abattoir said, "Sales figures have gone up, but prices have come down." Of the 1.87 lakh goats brought to the market for sale, 1.70 lakh goats were sold.
Abdul Latif, member, Maharashtra Sheep and Goats Research Foundation, a government-run body said, "The primary reason behind the drop in business is because of the demand-supply economics.
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There is a glut of goats and just not enough buyers. Over 2 lakh goats have come in for sale this year, much more than the last few years."
Sacrifice and Piety
As an act of obeisance, Ibrahim was asked by God to sacrifice his only son, Ismail.
Ibrahim took his son to be sacrificed, but was stopped at the last minute by Allah, who spared the life of the boy, as Ibrahim had proved that he was his faithful servant.
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The father and son slaughtered a nearby goat as an alternative. The Kaba in Mecca is believed to be the place where Ibrahim and Ismail set up the sacrificial altar.
2 Lakh sacrificial goats are in the market for sale this year
Rs 400 The price of a kilo of sacrificial goat meat
