Purchase of animals on weight basis picks up in city

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Citizens fed up with unjustified demands of animal dealers turn to supermarkets to purchase animals

* Rs 410 to Rs 425 per kg fixed for goats at Makro and Metro outlets

By Shabbir Sarwar

LAHORE: With only four days left in Eidul Azha the majority of Lahoris, who are fed up with the unjustified price demands of the animal dealers, have started buying animals from two supermarkets outlets at the price of Rs 410 and Rs 425 per kilogramme respectively, Daily Times learnt on Friday during a visit to the supermarkets outlets.

Purchasing animals on the basis of weight had been a routine matter throughout the year, however purchasing animals for Eidul Azha was reintroduced just a few years back in the city. The supermarkets established by multinational companies were the pioneers of this new trend in Lahore.

At Makro, a supermarket located in Model Town Link Road, a goat weighing 30 kg is available for Rs 12,300 and an animal weighing 70 kg is available for Rs 28,700. Makro outlets are providing animals between the ranges of 30 to 70 kg at a fixed price.

Haji Muhammad Aslam and Muhammad Islam, the animal dealers, told Daily Times that they had made an agreement with the supermarket, and last year they had started their business of selling animals at the rate of Rs 315 per kg. “This year we have slightly increased the price at the fixed rate of Rs 410, but we can challenge it is the lowest in the city,” they said. “We started the sale of small animals from this month and had been selling 15 to 20 animals on a daily basis, while the real sale of animals will start on Sunday or Monday,” they added.

Aslam said that last year they sold 300 animals on the day before Eid, adding that they had brought the animals form Lodhran, a district in Punjab near Bahawalpur.

At Metro, another super market of the city, the animals were available at the price of Rs 425 to 460 per kg depending upon the weight of the animals.

On the other hand, at the nine markets established by the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) the animal sellers are demanding Rs 20,000 to 25,0000 for a small animal weighing around 30 kg.

At the markets, business activity is still very low due to the high prices demanded by the animal dealers, as most citizens have been unable to purchase animals at such a high prices, which is at least 40 to 50 percent higher if compared to the prices of last year. A majority of the citizens are waiting for the prices to be lowered down in the coming days. Majid Ahmed Brahim, a citizen, said that prices were very high and he could not manage to buy a reasonable goat even for Rs 15,000.

A majority of the middle class has planned to share in buying the animals and sacrificing them through the local mosques and seminaries. This year even the per share cost of a collective sacrifice has also increased, ranging between Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,500, compared to last year’s prices of Rs 4,000 to 5,000.