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Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
IT was a busy day at the livestock section of the Central Market in Doha on Saturday with a large number of people cutting across nationalities flocking together to buy sacrificial animals for Eid Al Adha celebrations.
Pakistani national, Ishtiaq Mirza, who visited the market along with his three companions, said:"We come from a joint family and plan to buy five sheep for Eid Al Adha festivities this year. The buying of the sheep involves a lot of haggling to get the best bargain. In our family, the final selection of animals is made by the eldest member."
Like Mirza, there were many others at the Livestock Market struggling to find their choicest sheep and trying to clinch a deal with the vendors. As for vendors, they were busy flaunting their best animals to woo customers.
As soon as a new customer arrived at the market, vendors somehow sensed his novice approach and started hurling a volley of offers at him in order to attract him and leaving him confused in turn. Seasoned buyers, on the other hand, could be seen completely at home with the vendors taking their time getting the best deal as per their budget.
Ahmed Mousa, the Sudanese owner of Al Waheed Trading, brought sheep and goats to the market from his farms in Shehania, Shamal and other remote villages of Qatar.
Mousa told Qatar Tribune,"Livestock sale reaches its peak three days before Eid and continues until three days after the festival. The prices of the sacrificial animals start increasing as the Eid day draws nearer and decline after the festival. For example, a sheep costing QR2,500 today may drop to QR2,000 after Eid."
According to Mousa, there is a slight increase in the animal prices compared to last year. There is greater demand for the Syrian and Jordanian sheep compared to the ones coming from Iran or Sudan. The average price of a Syrian sheep this year is between QR1,300 to QR1,400 while an average Iranian sheep costs QR1,100.
Camel is available for those who wish to sacrifice a bigger animal. A five to six-month-old camel can be bought for an average price of QR4,000.
However, those who do not wish to go to livestock market and still want to perform the sacrifice have the option of visiting charity society such as Munazzamat Al Da'wa Al Islamiya's outlets across Doha, which perform the sacrifice on behalf of people by collecting money from them for the animal. It offers choice of performing sacrifice in African countries so that the meat of the sacrificed animal is consumed in the country of the choice of the one who wishes to perform the sacrifice.
