Sheep markets inactive as Eid approaches

Livestock markets are witnessing inactivity and hiked prices, despite the advent of Eid Al Adha.
In Buraida’s livestock market, there seemed to be a modest turnout of customers. “I expect more customers will come and throng the market in the next few days of the month of Dul Hijja. Sales will be higher than last year,” said one sheep trader, adding that prices are reasonable in general, but there are some kinds of sheep that are priced higher according to their weight.
Another sheep trader, Ali Al-Dakheel, said the market had not witnessed acute price hikes, unlike last year, when the prices of Nuaimi and Najdi sheep reached SR 2,500. This year, the highest price recorded so far is SR 2,000, he said, adding that he thought sales would increase by the approach of Eid.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Al-Ajlan, a customer, said the livestock prices were “too high”, as they reached SR 2,000. “Markets are inactive because most people have decided to buy their sacrifices a few days before Eid. Traders have also intentionally reduced the supply in the market, aiming to increase prices by the advent of Haj,” he added.
Livestock markets in Jizan exhibited the same prices. Furthermore, several people said they went to the market to buy their sacrifices ahead of time, to benefit from lower prices, but instead found the prices higher than usual.
Abdu Awwaf, who bought his sacrifice for SR1, 700, called on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to monitor prices.
Abdullah Al-Harbi, a livestock trader who supplies sheep to Hafr Al-Baten market, said the market witnessed “hundreds of thousands of sheep heads, priced around SR 1,000 to SR 1,500 per head — which could reduce sheep prices for customers by 20 percent compared to last year.” Al-Harbi also expected supply to surpass demand by 130 percent. The reason prices are still high despite the large supply is the fact that the costs for framing sheep are higher than in the past. One head’s fodder now costs SR6, while it used to cost SR2, he added.