Due to different reasons Qurbani of different animals was reduced by 26% on Eid ul Adha 2020, revealed Agha Saiddain, Former chairman of Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA),
He said that only 60 lakh Qurbani were offered in this year in comparison with 81 lakh sacrificial animals of previous year. It is said that the decrease in Qurbani was observed due to the coronavirus epidemic, inflation and decrease in purchasing power of citizens.
The list of sacrificial animals and their statistics for 2020 and 2019 are as follows:
Details | 2020 | 2019 |
Cows | 2,000,000 | 3,000,000 |
Goats | 3,140,000 | 4,000,000 |
Sheeps | 800,000 | 1,000,000 |
Camels | 60,000 | 100,000 |
Total | 6,000,000 | 8,100,000 |
In total there was a 26% reduction in Qurbani for Eid-ul-Azha and this trend is clearly visible in all animals including camels, cows, goats and sheeps.
In terms of amount the reduction was 28% as last year sacrificial animals of worth Rs. 242 billion were purchased while this year it was reduced to Rs. 174 Billion. The reduction not only affected the owners of livestock but also have impact on associated industry from their traders to leather market.
Downward trend & falling prices of raw hides and skins was also observed, Daily Jang reported a 50% reduction of price this year. But this was not associated with the current epidemic rather the rates of animal skins, which are purchased by leather industry, have been decreasing from past many years.
Another trend which saw an increase this year was online booking of sacrificial animals. Due to COVID-19 many people and families preferred to book animals or share in animal online rather than visiting the livestock market.