Prices of sacrificial animals in southern Daraa province, which has been liberated this year, have increased mostly due to the smuggling of livestock, high fodder prices and transportation costs.
Awad al-Joudi, a sheep farmer in Daraa province said, "the few days leading up to Eid al-Adha are witnessing great demand by people to buy sacrifices especially sheep which has led to increase in its prices."
He added the lack of support for livestock in areas outside regime control by humanitarian organizations and the Interim Government, and high prices of animal feed on the black market where the price of one ton to 170000 SP especially with the repeated years of drought experienced by the country, all this Led to a decline in grazing areas ".
In the same context, sheep breeder Hassan al-Hamawi said, "the reasons for the high prices of livestock are due to the high prices of fodder and the high prices of transport fees."
He explained that the merchant buys cattle sheep, cows and calves from their breeders spread on the outskirts of liberated cities and towns. The transport of livestock from those areas to the farms is expensive especially with the high prices of fuel, as the price of diesel fuel reached 550 SP as well as gasoline, which drives the trader to add the value of transport to the price of livestock.
Hussein from Daraa countryside attributed the rise in prices of livestock on the poor economic conditions of the country in general and the supply of livestock to Damascus and Homs, especially with the absence of accurate control on the prices of livestock, in addition to most of the provinces prefer sheep from Houran which encouraged most traders to do this trade.
Riad from Daraa said that the great demand for sheep by some humanitarian organizations and charities to slaughter them during Eid and distribute them has had a significant impact on the purchase of individual cattle. The charity and humanitarian organizations are working to buy large numbers of sheep and pay traders the prices they want. This has affected people who want to buy one sacrifice.
Concerning the prices sold of sheep in the province of Daraa during the days before Eid al-Adha, the prices start from 2000 SP per kilo of sacrifice, which is alive and more than 3900 SP slaughtered per kilo. As for calves and cows, price starts with 2300 SP per kilo ; close to 4200 SP slaughtered, with prices continuing to rise during these days.
