KARACHI: President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain has said last year hides worth Rs20 billion were sold while this year this dropped below Rs10 billion. He expressed the hope that the situation would improve next year after the virus had gone and the economic situation had become better.
On the other hand, Eid helped boost the economy as almost Rs100 billion were transferred from cities to villages. Last year almost twice as much had been transferred while the sum was around Rs375 billion in 2018, he said. Mian Zahid Hussain said that reduced transfer of money to rural areas can be attributed to the economic situation, impact of virus, and lockdown.
He said that the price of sacrificial animals jumped up 20 to 30 percent giving a boost to the livestock sector while the traders in cities suffered a lot due to the lockdown. He noted sacrifices were reduced in the major cities of Punjab and Sindh while the situation remained somewhat balanced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The concept of online arrangement and collective sacrifice had been gaining momentum, but fraud by some companies that recently stepped into the business has dented the confidence of the masses. The role of clerics and mosques has been increasing in offering hassle-free sacrifice services to the masses which is a good sign, he said, adding that the price of animals jumped up despite low demand while the price of hides crashed as the tanners were short of export and local orders.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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