On Sunday, Arab News visited Jeddah’s sheep and livestock markets and met with a number of independent sheep and lamb traders.

Several traders blamed the price hikes on the scarcity of imported animals in the Saudi market. Consumers on the other hand were less sympathetic.

“It is my family’s tradition to offer an annual sacrifice each year during Eid Al-Adha, and distribute the meat among relatives or the needy. However, having visited Jeddah’s livestock market to purchase a ram or a sheep, prices here seems to have spiked and I think for no apparent reason,” said Abu Abdulrahman, a father of four.

He said despite the price increase he could still afford to slaughter an animal. However, he expressed concern about those on limited incomes.

Another customer, 42-year-old Awad Al-Harbi, told Arab News: “I had to bargain with one of the traders on the prices of three heads of sheep, and he wouldn't budge from the initial price. Normally prices several days prior to Eid Al-Adha used to reach between SR600 to SR800 per head. Now we are talking about SR2,000 and sometimes more.”

Livestock dealers told Arab News that they expect the prices to rise further despite low demand.

“Most sellers seems to be good at justifying price hikes, and never at bringing down prices a bit so people can afford them. Sometimes they increase prices due to tight supplies, at other times they blame rainfalls for the hikes. Other excuses include transportation costs," said 29-year-old Jeddah resident Jamal Hamad.

“Like previous years, this is purely an issue of demand and supply, and also the rising costs of fodder and labor. I think prices haven’t changed much from the past as consumers tend to always complain. However, buyers have to consider the costs and expenses. We traders have to sustain these animals for the seasonal market. We are in the business to make money,” said 50-year-old livestock trader Abuid Al-Asa’ad.