Profit-hungry traders
There is nothing worse than using an unfortunate incident to one’s advantage. In this regard, traders from different parts of Punjab are seen travelling to flood affected parts of Sindh in order to buy livestock from desperate cash-starved affectees at throwaway prices. The situation is particularly grim for small-scale farmers who have lost most of animals in these devastating floods and now fear that the remaining might fall prey to disease on illness.
In light of this increasing trend, many welfare organisations have stepped forward to provide fodder and vaccinations but these helpless farmers claim that due to their precarious situation, of being displaced and not knowing when they will go back to their lands, selling seems to be the only suitable option. Traders however refute these claims and state that prices of livestock were already at a decline due to the lumpy skin disease. They say that transporting them all the way to Punjab will have a high cost and, in the end, they will be left with the same amount of profit. But if that were the case, they wouldn’t be going through the entire hassle of travelling through dilapidated infrastructure to flood ridden communities. They see significant profit in the exchange, enough to force them to travel in unprecedented circumstances.
Regardless of the profit they might make, is it right to go forward with such deals after knowing full well that the seller is in a state of shock and desperation? It is important to ask such a moral question, even in business, in order to uphold the thread of humanity that binds us together. A general realisation must prevail that livestock for these farmers is the only source of their livelihood now that their lands have been ravaged by flash floods. They will need to sustain themselves in the long run.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2022.
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