It's A Pity, The Turnover Of Sacrificial Animal Traders In Bekasi Has Fallen Drastically" On Average, Only 70 Percent Were Sold

Illustration of a sacrificial animal. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - A number of sellers of sacrificial animals who opened their stalls in Bekasi Regency, West Java complained about the drastic drop in turnover during this year's Eid al-Adha season.

One of the traders who opened a stall for sacrificial animals on Jalan Sultan Hasanudin, Tambun Selatan Subdistrict, Surahman, admitted that his Bima cattle sales had decreased by 40 percent.

"Now the sale of sacrificial cattle is mostly obtained from old customers and the online sales system," he said in Bekasi, quoted from Antara, Friday, July 16.

Surahman said that there were relatively few buyers who came directly to his stall. According to him, this is the impact of the PPKM Darudat policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Sales are currently only through the online system, there are only a few who come directly, because maybe there are restrictions on community activities. The problem is usually buyers who come from outside Bekasi Regency," he said.

Since opening the stall one month ago, Surahman has only brought 75 cows and so far only 70 percent have been sold. This condition is different from previous years which were able to bring in hundreds of cows from Bima.

"I deliberately brought a few because I was worried that I would not be able to sell all the existing cows," he said.

He admitted that last year he could sell more than 150 tails but this year only brought 75 tails. The majority of the 70 percent of the sacrificial animals that were sold were through the 'WhatsApp' application.

"Those who buy new ones from old customers, we share sales via online, distribute pamphlets, and WhatsApp numbers on social media," he said.

A similar condition was experienced by Budiyono, one of the traders of sacrificial animals on Jalan Raya Citarik Lama, Jatireja, East Cikarang District.

The sale of sacrificial animals in his stall has decreased. Previously, Budiyono was able to sell up to 300 tails, but this year he was only able to sell no more than 200.

"It's getting close to Eid al-Adha, usually we can sell up to 300 heads, but now it's only 200," he said.

He suspects that the reason for the decline in sales of sacrificial cattle is due to the economy of the community that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for almost the last two years.

"Now the buyers usually go online and the furthest our buyers are from Karawang, so there are more local buyers. There are no buyers from Jakarta yet, usually there are many," he said.