Digital cattle markets made Tk250cr in sales before Eid
e-CAB had set up several online cattle markets as a precaution to curb the spread of deadly Covid-19 from people’s gatherings at traditional marketplaces
Different digital marketplaces have sold 27,000 sacrificial animals worth Tk250 crore ahead of the Eid-ul-Adha.
However, the total volume of trade would be much more as people bought animals from some unregistered digital marketplaces, said officials of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) at a press conference on Friday.
The e-CAB and Dhaka North City Corporation jointly organised the press conference to disclose information regarding the trade of sacrificial animals on online marketplaces ahead of the Eid.
This year, some member companies of the e-CAB organised the online cattle markets as a precaution to curb the spread of Covid-19 from people's gatherings at traditional marketplaces.
Of the sale of 27,000 sacrificial animals, Digital Haat – a joint initiative of e-CAB and Dhaka North – sold 6,800, online platforms of the Bangladesh Dairy Farm Association's members companies sold 9,500 and the Food for Nation platform sold 4,000.
District-based online platforms also sold some of 5,500 animals until Friday morning.
Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said, "Managing the Digital Haat was a very tough job, which our team did excellently through their relentless hard work."
Seeking the city dwellers' support on waste management during the Eid, the mayor urged them not to slaughter sacrificial animals in places not designated for it.
e-CAB President Shomi Kaiser said, "It is a matter of great pleasure that we have shown our ability to provide a service like sacrificial animal trade through online platforms. Besides gathering experience, we have also seen some new start-ups joining the business."
e-CAB General Secretary Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal said they had to face new challenges in every step.
"We had to check whether the right animal is in stock or not, weight is okay or not, does the animal have any disease or not and whether the farmer received the payment or not," he added.
Speakers from the Dhaka North City Corporation said from the Eid day to the next three days, animal slaughtering, cleaning and meat packaging facilities will be available at the slaughtering house at Mohammadpur embankment.
