Traders Denied ‘rumors’ About Rise In Prices For Sacrificial Sheep

Several sheep experts in Kabd expressed their shock by the rumors that the prices of sacrificial sheep have risen to such an extent that it has hit the limit of KD 200 or KD 220 per sheep. They denied this, clarifying that this number is due to the auctions for the sheep that are not designated to be slaughtered as sacrifices for Eid. In a press statement, the sheep experts affirmed that the price of sheep required for the Eid sacrificial market ranges between KD 130 and KD 170 depending on the specifications, the type of sacrifice, its origin, and its breeder.

Some of them said, “Sometimes the prices that people circulate are real and sometimes they are based on speculations in the black market between some sheep sellers in order to raise the price. However, people will be held accountable if they sell at a high cost, or their sheep will remain in their possession without being sold.” In this regard, sheep trader Abu Miteb said the prices are normal and within people’s reach. He explained that, “The increased prices are artificial, and it terrifies people and makes them fear the entire process of sacrificing. In reality, the cost is much less than that.

In the market, sheep marked for Eid Al-Adha are priced at KD 120. Some cost KD 130, and some others may be higher than those prices.” Furthermore, the sheep trader Saleh Al-Watari said the astronomical numbers that people circulate as prices of sacrifices are not correct, affirming that the reality is that they pertain to the auctions intended for livestock that are not prepared for slaughter, but for breeding and animal production. He stressed that the costs of the sacrifices are within everyone’s reach; even though it may increase or decrease a little, it never exceeded the limit of KD 170.

Regarding the availability of sheep and sacrificial livestock, Al-Watari said, “There is no local Naimi sheep in the State of Kuwait, except for a very small quantity. The Naimi sheep that arrived from some Arab countries are less in number, and half of them cannot be sacrificed, as they are small and not fit to be slaughtered as sacrifices. The current alternative to the local Al-Naimi, which bears its specifications as sacrifice, is the Iranian Shafali. They are raised in Kuwait for six months and above, with good breeding and clean fodder.

These sheep will be sold on the day of the sacrifice for KD 140 and KD 150 each.” He commented on the prices spread among people by affirming that some people exaggerate, and send messages and pictures to claim that the cost of a sacrificial sheep has reached KD 200. Regarding the services for sheep at Kabd’s sheep market, a number of sheep traders there asked the Ministry of Social Affairs to send an observer to look into the missing services they have in the market and to activate them, saying, “The ministry appointed 12 observers in the market but we did not see any of them. We are the ones who open the market, organize it, and take care of its affairs without an official status”. They stressed the presence of a Kuwaiti auctioneer instead of Asians and some Arabs. They demanded the physical presence of a team from the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) to observe how the non-Kuwaiti brokers deal with the fodder and distribute them, as there is no organization or order.

By Abdul Nasser Al-Aslami

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

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