Sacrificial animal remains boost seasonal income

Locally discarded offal finds its way from streets of Punjab to international markets

FAISALABAD:

What many households discard as waste after Eidul Azha becomes a valuable source of income for nomadic communities and sanitation workers, who collect animal remains and sell them in local and international markets.

For Abdul Ghafoor, a nomad living in a roadside tent along Sargodha Road, Eid is the most profitable time of the year.

He said the seasonal rise in sacrificial animal waste provides him an income he cannot match throughout the rest of the year.

He explained that a specific part of cattle intestines, locally referred to in trade slang as "Chodra," holds significant commercial value.

According to him, he extracts a football-sized portion of the stomach lining attached to intestines and sells it to local dealers for Rs800 to Rs1,000, earning immediate cash.

He said these intermediaries clean, salt, and dry the material before selling it to large traders, particularly in Karachi, from where it is reportedly exported to China.

In China, it is further processed for use in medical manufacturing, including surgical sutures used in operations worldwide.

These finished products are also imported back into Pakistan for use in hospitals and medical institutions.

Ghafoor claimed that by collecting such materials from urban and rural areas during Eid, he earns over Rs100,000 on the first day alone.

He added that competition over collection often leads to disputes with municipal sanitation workers, particularly those associated with "Suthra Punjab," as both groups consider the material highly valuable.

A District Livestock Department official, Dr Suhail Anjum, explained that large ruminants such as cows and buffaloes have four stomach compartments—rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum.

He said the part commonly collected and sold in the trade is the omasum, which plays a role in digestion and consists of multiple thin tissue layers.

He added that in the international meat and medical supply chain, especially in exports to China, processed omasum (also known as beef tripe) is used in industrial applications, including the production of surgical sutures and other medical materials.

Dr Anjum noted that this seasonal trade has grown into a profitable informal industry, which is why both nomadic collectors and sanitation workers actively compete for access to the material during Eid.

He said this competition often results in confrontations at dumping sites.

He further stated that the livestock by-products market sees a sharp surge during Eid, turning what is normally waste into a temporary but highly lucrative economic opportunity for many low-income workers.