[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]BR RESEARCH
(November 15, 2010) : Its that time of the year when the four-legged have taken control of several peoples lives and thoughts. Yes, its the time of the festive Islamic occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

While many know the spiritual benefits of sacrifice, the economic benefits of this holy occasion are also countless.

Conservative estimates place the total number of animals, both small and large, slaughtered in Pakistan above 5 million, and the total value of these animals hovers around Rs100 billion, assuming 25 percent of the households practice sacrificial rites this year. The resulting trade and sacrifices of livestock, with the said injection of money into the economy, also spills over the gains into various sectors.

According to a study conducted by the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, while the average marginal propensity to consume (MPC) in Pakistan averages around 0.68 for every rupee, the sales proceeds of sacrificial animals had an MPC of 1.

This means that for an increase of Rs1 in income from sale of animals (mainly for the rural livestock raisers), consumption increases by Rs1. This may be directed at various activities from purchases of electronic gadgets and other supplies to health and education expenditures.

The resulting consumption helps generate demand in both the manufacturing and services sectors of the economy. And since the benefits accrue to the rural cattle farmer, poverty alleviation in the relatively impoverished rural sector of the economy is another gain.

According to David Doolan, Senior FAO Officer, in charge of FAO programmes in Pakistan, “livestock in this country are the poor peoples mobile ATM.”

The animal skin and slaughtering services are also another revenue-generating source with their total value estimated at around Rs7 billion. These help provide the impetus to butchering services, as well as to the leather industry of the country.

On a more micro level, prices of animals have gone up by 15-20 percent this year over the previous year, according to sources in the industry.

While the average price of larger animals have risen from roughly Rs34,000 last year to Rs45,000 this year, the average price of small animals have soared from around Rs11,000 to Rs15,000, according to Latif Qureshi, General Secretary of the Karachi Livestock Traders Welfare Association.

Industry sources have cited the loss of animals after the floods as creating a supply-side shortage that caused the buoyancy in prices.

The prices of animals include the cost of transportation and maintenance; however, money taken from livestock sellers in the name of water tax, maintenance and shelter tax, electricity tax, etc augment prices further.

“We pay a lump sum of Rs700 per animal to the government for the maintenance and shelter of the sacrificial animals, and yet we are exploited for these other trivial expenses, bloating our costs further,” said Latif .

New trends observed in the market this year include a greater propensity towards collective or institutional sacrifices as individual sacrifices have become dearer for the purchasers.

In addition, a development in online sacrificial services has also established ground. “Online sacrificial services are gaining popularity amongst Muslims both in the country and abroad. The business has gained credibility over the years due to standard prices, convenience and greater awareness,” said Iftikhar Hasan, pioneer of Qurbani Online, an online portal for the sale of sacrificial animals.

Over the years, the dynamics of the market of sacrificial animals have changed dramatically. One hopes the true spirit of sacrifice is not lost along the way.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”725″ alignment=”center” style=”” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” css_animation=”right-to-left” title=”Aqiqa” link=”/aqiqa-online” img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”726″ alignment=”center” style=”” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” css_animation=”right-to-left” title=”Qurbani Online” link=”/qurbani-online” img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”729″ alignment=”center” style=”” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” css_animation=”right-to-left” title=”Aqiqa” link=”/sadqa-online” img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-to-top”]

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With eight days left to mark Eid-ul-Azha, the buying of sacrificial animals through the Internet has started picking momentum. The trend of purchasing animals online is facilitating those people who do not have time to make a trip to the market to select the sacrificial animal of their choice. Customers can find the animals of their choice, order it online and get it delivered right at their doorstep. The prices of sacrificial animals on the Internet are, however, quite exorbitant. They are observed to be 20 percent higher than the open market. However, the higher prices have not discouraged potential buyers.

People say that they are paying the price of comfort, avoiding hardships like time consumption, transportation problems, bargaining hassles and most of all, visiting the cattle market in person. They also hoped that prices would come down near Eid. They said the City Government should promote this type of selling of sacrificial animals to facilitate the people.

A number of websites have come into action offering a variety of sacrificial animals including goats, cows and camels on Internet. These online services provide photo, video, voice and other descriptions including types and prices of the goats and other sacrificial animals on the Internet, which assists customers in making their choice.

They sell the sacrificial animals by weight. They accept payments from around the world through credit cards, terming it as the most convenient method for distant payments.

To ensure the timely delivery of payment, they ask customers to pay their credit card bills in full within the due date to avert any interest on their payment. The websites also offer their customers the guarantee of 100 percent satisfaction with the healthiest animals delivered right at the doorstep.

Online bookings of qurbanis (sacrifices) for Eid-ul-Azha has also started with the credit cards being used to facilitate the transaction. Among others, Islamabad-based ebakra.com and the Karachi-based qurbanionline.com offer customers the option of picking and choosing the sheep for sacrifices. While surfing such websites, the animals can be chosen from pictures and prices displayed and ordered by e-mail for free home delivery. If the customer wishes, he can even visit the sheep farm where they are bred and raised. The prices, though a little bit higher than the market, still remain within the reach of most customers, a website claims.

The websites have also issued a religious decree (fatwa) against the purchase through credit cards. The best way to avail the services of a credit card company is to have a direct debit arrangement with the issuer of the card. It means that as soon as an amount is due on the card holder, the issuer receives it by debiting the card holders account. This is to eliminate any chance of accrual of interest on the payable amount in case of a delay in payment. However, if direct debit arrangement is not possible for any reason, purchasing through a credit card is permissible only if the card holder is fully confident of being able to pay the bill within the due date, the website clarified.

These websites are managed by different chains of big stores as well as individuals. They claim that buying a sacrificial animal on the Internet was hassle free and without any bargaining because of competitive prices. They said this also saved people valuable time. Some websites are also advertising the donation of the sacrificial animals skins. They also offer services to oversees Pakistanis, promising to sacrifice an animal here in Pakistan, distribute its meat among the poor and send pictures of the alive and sacrificed animal to the customers abroad.

The idea of purchasing sacrificial animals through Internet was introduced in the country some two or three years back. Zahid Hussain, a resident of Gulberg said that on last Eid-ul-Azha, he purchased a goat through one such website and this year he was planning to do the same. It saves him time, he said, otherwise he would have to go to some stinking cattle market in this heavy traffic of the provincial metropolis and then would have to bargain a lot with the sellers and then look for a van to get the animal home.

The internet has made it very easy now, he said. Shahzad, a resident of Cantonment area, said all such websites were showing the pictures of the animals as well as their bio-data like their weight, age and teeth and once the animal was purchased, the websites sent the customers the same so that the order could be cancelled in case of a change in the animals bio-data.

Archive: QurbaniOnline Scottrade