Amanullah Khan, a Pakistani teenager, stands on tiptoe to henna the camels that gaze at him and thus attract buyers to a market in Islamabad, before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Hundreds of herders have been camping for two weeks at livestock markets between the capital and its twin city of Rawalpindi, hoping to sell their animals before Eid, which begins Thursday in Pakistan.
But with the galloping inflation that Pakistan has been experiencing for months, and which still reached nearly 38% over one year in May, the markets are attracting far fewer people than usual.
Amanullah’s cousin, Zakaria, took 18 camels with him after successful sales last year. But this year, he has so far only sold one.
“People can’t afford to buy. Customers don’t come to the market and those who come prefer to leave empty-handed because of the high price of animals,” Zakaria, 21, told AFP.
For Eid al-Adha (“Feast of Sacrifice”), many Muslims sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep, to commemorate the submission to God of Ibrahim – Abraham in the Jewish and Christian traditions -, ready to immolate his son to whom this animal was substituted in extremis. It can also be a goat, an ox or a camel.
The meat is divided into three equal parts between the family, relatives and the poor.
It is one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar, but this year many middle-class Pakistanis will not be able to carry on the tradition.
“Our income is the same, but the prices are at their highest. Where could we find so much money?” asks a customer, Ali Akbar, a 46-year-old mason.
Another potential buyer, Zerak Ali, came to inquire about the price of a camel, which can go up to 1 million rupees (3,200 euros).
“For you, it costs 700,000,” Zakaria tries. But Mr. Ali, a 56-year-old trader, prefers to head to the less expensive bullpen with his two grandsons.
The camel is not the most commonly sacrificed animal in Pakistan. But some wealthy people prefer it, because 11 families can share the meat according to the rules of Islam.
More than 250 camels were brought to the Islamabad market, along with thousands of oxen, cows, goats or sheep.
Oxen cost up to 500,000 rupees (1,600 euros), while the price of goats varies between 50,000 and 150,000 (from 160 to 480 euros).
Zakaria’s profits are being eroded by market-imposed taxes, rising fodder and truck rental prices, and staff salaries.
“I will lose millions of rupees this year,” he predicted sadly.
Bakht Zaman, a farmer from Mardan district in the northwest of the country, brought 10 camels but only sold one, for only 500,000 rupees.
“The value of the Pakistani rupee has fallen,” said Haq Nawaz, another customer. “Who will buy such expensive animals?”
28/06/2023 05:25:57 – Islamabad (AFP) – © 2023 AFP