Ahead of Eid, goat sellers rejoice in higher profits compared to last year

Surat Goat Traders’ Association president Vasim Khansaab further shared, “We don’t have an exact figure of the sales this year but we know it is definitely higher compared to the last year. Despite the livestock price hike, there were interested customers ahead of the festivity. Largely, goats come to Surat from Rajasthan, and some from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. We have also found that some people of Surat have also jumped into goat farming and they had earned good income in the last few days.”

Jamil Shaikh who makes arrangements for the goat sellers from Rajasthan and Maharashtra in the Bharatnagar area shared, “This year, around 5,000 goats were sold off in the mandi. Last year, Rs 15,000 was the starting price which rose up to Rs. 20,000 this year. There are goats that are sold for over lakhs of rupees.”

“Traders come from different villages in Rajasthan to sell their goats in the Surat market. This year, we have also witnessed many goat farmers who had come from different districts of Maharashtra to sell off their goats in the Surat mandi. At our place, we charge a nominal amount and provide facilities like drinking water, washroom facilities, power supply with fans, etc. to goat farmers. We have also made compartments so that the goats do not get mixed with each other. We have also kept cleaning staff,” he added.

Mohammed Shahid, 50, a goat farmer from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district, said, “For the last 20 years, I am coming to Surat with other village shepherds to sell goats ahead of Eid-ul-Adha. The prices of goats surged due to the hike in prices of livestock and transportation costs. I came with 100 goats on June 12, and today, all of them were sold off. I have taken 25 more goats from others to sell, keeping my profit margin.”

He further added, “We know that this year due to Cyclone Biparjoy, over 80 goats in different villages in Jodhpur died. The goat farmers had to face their share of challenges. Those left behind were likely to come to Surat and Mumbai but they were trapped in the cyclone and faced a great loss.”