Sixty-year-old Salem Al-Paqimi, a seller for the last 20 years, said on Friday it cost only SR1,100 per head.

At the Azizia market, it was slightly lower at SR2,000 per head. The sheep markets in Azizia and Nasseem are the biggest in the Saudi capital.

Explaining the reason for the increase, Al-Paqimi said many people only intended to buy after Eid, believing that the prices would be lower. “Hearing about this, sellers increased their rates on Eid day,” he said. Al-Paqimi sold 2,400 heads over the last 10 days.

At Azizia market, Monees Al-Qahtani, 50, said that although prices have gone up, he managed to sell 1,000 heads on Sunday.

Mohammed Mobarak Al-Qahtani, dispatcher at Saudi Aramco, said that he would have bought his meat on Friday if he knew prices were much lower compared to Saturday.

“I paid SR3,000 for two heads of sheep on Saturday. One for my parents and the other one for my family. I was at the market from 6 to 9 o'clock in the morning trying to get a good price but could not,” he said.

Al-Qahtani, 38, added that over the years, the price of sheep has been increasing.

“Next year, I believe I'll be paying SR3,500 for two heads,” he said.

He said that about three years ago, the government imported 3 million heads of sheep from abroad to meet local demand and keep the prices low.

“However, sellers have continuously increased their prices. They should be more reasonable. If they were in the shoes of the buyers, I am sure they will also demand that prices be affordable, especially for growing families like mine,” he said.