80 per cent of the city’s butchers are already booked

Professional butchers have already been paid in advance, their charges have increased by nearly Rs2,000.

KARACHI: Around 80 per cent of the city’s professional butchers have already been booked and paid in advance for the first day of Eid. Their charges have increased by nearly Rs2,000 compared to last year.

According to a butcher from Nazimabad, who identified himself as Noman, the quality of services provided by professional and amateur butchers determines the prices they charge. A team of professional butchers — consisting of six to eight people — perform eight to 10 cow sacrifices in a day and determine the prices after looking at the animal.

This year, a person will have to pay a team of six butchers approximately Rs10,000 on the first day of Eid for the sacrifice of a cow which weighs more than five maunds. The sacrifice of a cow weighing between three and four maunds will cost Rs7,000 while any animal which weighs below three maunds can be sacrificed for Rs4,000 on the first day of Eid. These charges are likely to go down by 25 per cent on the second day of Eid.

Meanwhile, people with goats will have to pay between Rs1,000 and Rs1,500 for the sacrifice of each animal.

Businesses

Like most small-scale businesses that prosper during the Eid season, veterinary doctors also tend to run a successful show by charging around Rs100 for a check-up and Rs300 for prescriptions at their makeshift hospitals that have been set up in neighbourhoods.

Knife-sharpening shops are also doing well. Shopkeepers charge anywhere between Rs30 and Rs100 for the facility, while one shopkeeper explained that he had increased prices following the hike in electricity tariffs.

Temporary stalls for fodder, knives, straw mats, barbeque equipment and jewellery for animals also dot neighbourhoods around the city and add a festive touch to the celebrations of Eidul Azha. Last year, the price of straw mats was Rs75 and now it has increased to Rs200. A big straw basket costs Rs100 and a medium basket costs Rs60.

Meanwhile, the hides collected from animals are popular among local and foreign businesses while the fat, intestines and other internal organs are also used in various industries. Fast food restaurants have also put up banners advertising their services to prepare hunter beef and broast.

Knives

With a drastic increase in the prices of all items used during Eidul Azha, an increase in the prices of different types of knives was registered at around 30 to 50 per cent higher than last year.

According to a survey conducted by daily Express, stalls set up in residential areas are earning 100 per cent more than the wholesalers.  Three types of knives — made with stainless steel, with blades and with spare iron parts — are being prepared for Eidul Azha this year. The iron knives are the strongest, followed by the ones made from stainless steel, which don’t rust.  However, while the blade knives may be the shiniest, they don’t last for long. Blade knives used to remove skin, cost between Rs30 and Rs50, while iron knives used to remove skin are sold for between Rs60 and Rs100.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.