A Production Report on Beef Cattle Market Scenario of Sagorika Cattle Market, Chittagong During Eid-Ul-Azha

Abstract

A large number of farmers involved in bull fattening just before 4 or 5 months of Eid-Ul- Azha (Muslim festival) when they sell the animals with profitable prices. Cattle fattening for beef production have become an important business of small farmers in Bangladesh. The study is basically an attempt to describe the marketing margin and marketing costs of beef cattle in Bangladesh with the help of primary data collected randomly from 5 beef cattle farmers and 5 intermediaries (Beparies) from market levels. Sagorika cattle market of Chittagong district was purposively chosen for this study. Fifteen percent (15%) of total cattle sold in the study area were brought from abroad and the rest (85 %) were brought from Chittagong region by local beef cattle producers and different districts purchased through dalal by beparies. Opinions of farmers were very much positive towards cattle rearing. Profitability net margin equals 21,155Tk per cattle and the benefit cost ratio of local beef cattle farmers was 1.21 that means cattle fattening program is profitable and feasible business enterprise where net margin equals to 18554.05Tk per cattle and benefit cost ratio of beparies was 1.24 which also profitable business. The local beef cattle farmers pointed the prospects of cattle rearing were: a) high price of beef and b) easy and participatory husbandry practices at homestead level but the major problems facing the farmers include high cost of feeds, inadequate credit facilities, disease attack, price fluctuation and inadequate extension services. A policy and research emphasis should be geared toward feeds production at affordable price to the fatteners and fatteners should be educated on how to formulate local feeds to reduce cost and access to feeds for better efficiency and discourage to use human drugs, tablets and injection for cattle fattening. These findings can be used by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development extension agents to promote beef cattle fattening in areas where beef cattle fattening is not practiced in the country.