Traders lament fall in demand for sheep during Eid Al Adha

AMMAN — Butchers and sheep pen owners on the fourth day of Eid Al Adha complained of lack of demand for sheep this year compared to previous years, which forced them to lower prices on certain breeds to mitigate losses. 

In 2018, some 73,119 sheep were sacrificed during the Eid Al Adha holiday in Amman, an official at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said.

On the first day of the holiday this year, some 26,641 sheep were sacrificed, out of a total of only 62,448 sheep in Amman, according to the executive manager of GAM’s health inspection department, Yasar Khitan. 

Health cadres at the municipality, in cooperation with veterinarians on site, destroyed 100 kilogrammes of meat for failing to meet legal standards. 

The control department also removed 185 illegal pens around the capital during the period before the eid in order to prevent violations and commit to the locations GAM designated for slaughter. 

A sheep pen owner in Zarqa, who preferred not to be named, said that the demand was very low this year, describing the losses incurred as "disastrous". 

Loay, one of the people who was at the pen, told The Jordan Times "they were selling sheep at a cheaper price, especially Romanian ones, because they have not sold much the whole holiday."

He added: "Eid came in the middle of the month, and people have already bought what they need elsewhere and many cannot afford to sacrifice the way they used to a few years back. 

“There used to be six butchers working on each pen with people crowding and screaming to get a turn, but if you look now, you will see only two butchers working at intervals."

On a related note, Tkiyet Um Ali on Monday, the second day of Eid Al Adha, distributed fresh meat to more than 4,054 underprivileged families in Amman, Irbid, Madaba, Balqa, Zarqa and Aqaba, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

A sheep sacrificed by the charity organisation in Jordan cost JD150 and in Australia where they also operate, it cost JD100, covering the costs of slaughter, cutting the meat, freezing it and shipping to Jordan to be stored in the organisation's storage rooms.

In celebrating Eid Al Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, Muslims mark the end of a major ritual in Islam, the Hajj or the greater pilgrimage to Mecca. During Eid Al Adha, Muslims of sufficient means are required to sacrifice livestock in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to God, according to Muslim beliefs.