Comment by Riaz Haq on September 13, 2016 at 10:56am

A study by trade organizations puts the total value of Eid shopping this year at Rs 1000 billion (US $ 10 billion).

This trend coincides with a rise in the prices of clothes, shoes and fashion accessories. The prices have registered a 20 percent increase as compared to the previous year.

Economists attribute these trends to both traditional surge in prices and uptick in economic activity related to industrial, services, infrastructure development, domestic tourism, and growth of modern IT sectors. Only this week, Pakistan has found its way back into the category of emerging economies on the back of expanding GDP, robust performance of Karachi Stock Exchange, foreign remittances inflows, and macroeconomic stability.

Discussions with traders and entrepreneurs reveal that the trends bode well for the country, which has to pull large populations in far-off areas out of poverty.

In addition to conventional shopping like clothes, citizens are also purchasing new furniture and home appliances during the Eid season.

Except for high-end brands and the imported commodities, prices are generally stated to be slightly above last year’s level. But the children’s garments are expensive due to rising demand and traditional profiteering on part of sellers.

http://www.samaa.tv/blogs/2016/06/pakistans-eid-shopping-likely-to-... 

Comment by Akhtar Hussain on September 13, 2016 at 11:29am

Excellent article.  I am thrilled to hear about prosperity in Pakistan.  People of Pakistan are great consumers and this exchange of wealth from the wealthy to the middle classes is an excellent example of a thriving economy.  Domestic consumption is a good indicator of a healthy economy.

On this auspicious occasion I would like to wish all Pakistanis, Eid Mubarak and remember all Pakistanis are one it does not matter which tribe you belong to.

Long live Pakistan!

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 16, 2016 at 9:33am

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), while quoting some estimates, has said that Rs200 billion to Rs300 billion has flown from urban centres to rural areas of the country during the recent Eid festival, which will prove a boon to the farmers and backward regions.

“Some estimates suggest that around Rs200 to 300 billion has been shifted from urban centres to rural areas during Eidul Azha, of which 85% was spent on the purchase of sacrificial animals,” said FPCCI President Abdul Rauf Alam in a statement on Thursday – the third day of Eid.

Over 1,800 land in hospitals in Punjab due to overeating during Eid holidays

He pointed out that Eidul Azha generated great economic activity around the Muslim world and its ballooning size was a very positive indicator for Pakistan’s economy, particularly for the rural economy.

Cattle traders in Pakistan mostly come from rural areas to sell sacrificial animals in big and small cities after rearing cattle for months and even more than a year. “Rural residents, who raise animals for sale on Eid, bring billions of rupees to the rural economy and help alleviate poverty and unemployment,” he said.

“It (Eidul Azha) creates millions of temporary jobs, benefits the jobless, transporters, tanners, textile manufacturers, social and religious groups as well as others.”

It promotes the livestock sector which accounts for 58.5% of the agricultural sector and over 12% of the national economy.

“Crops are going down but the livestock sector is growing 3.6% per year; a little focus can help the country export a significant number of cattle to Saudi Arabia, which will give a boost to the rural economy and bring foreign exchange to the country,” Alam said.

How do Americans and non-Muslims view Eidul Azha?

Saudi Arabia is a huge market for cattle as besides regular consumption in households, hotels, wedding ceremonies and other occasions, millions of animals are sacrificed during Hajj every year.

Pointing out that Pakistan had become world’s fourth largest milk producer, he lamented that lack of value addition was preventing the country from capitalising on livestock sector’s potential.

The FPCCI president was of the view that a large number of people were willing to spend more liberally on the purchase of animals and price movements had failed to deter them. Apart from this, the production of cattle is increasing in the country.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1182324/eidul-azha-generated-economic-a...

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 20, 2018 at 11:24am

Eid economy takes an upturn
Afshan SubohiUpdated August 20, 2018

https://www.dawn.com/news/1428014/eid-economy-takes-an-upturn

The demand price spiked by 20 per cent on average in 2018 because of higher transport and incidental expenses, but the increase in the selling price is in the range of five to 10pc depending on the buyers’ negotiation skills.

The greater volume of cattle trade on “Bakra Eid” means a bigger net wealth transfer from urban to rural Pakistan, with cattle farmers of Punjab being rewarded generously for their better cattle rearing skills by the market. In contrast, ultimate beneficiaries of higher consumer spending on Eidul Fitr are urban manufacturers, traders and service providers. The gains, however, are not equitably shared across all regions on both festive occasions owing to the geographical disparities in development.

Roughly one-tenth of the total population of goats and cows is sacrificed every year during the three days of Eidul Azha. Livestock has a growing share of 58.9pc in the agriculture sector and 11.1pc in the gross domestic product, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2017-18. The growth in the livestock sector remained 3.7pc last year, which is 80 basis points higher than the agriculture-sector growth of 2.9pc.

Currently, general sentiments are upbeat. The nation has heaved a sigh of relief at the peaceful transfer of power for the third consecutive time.

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The cash-based nature of cattle trade makes it difficult to monitor the flow of money. There is a whole chain of people involved in the activity that spans over the year and culminates on Eid. There are investors, breeders, cattle farm owners, short-term retail investors, brokers, transporters, mandi operators, caretakers in urban centres, service providers and millions of temporary workers. Identifying the share of each segment in the pie of the Eid economy is hard, but the risk-reward ratio for brokers with both ends secured is said to be the most lucrative. For all others, risks are high and returns are uncertain.

Many dependable indicators that shed light on the size of the market — like the data of hides and skins collected and the consolidated number of the headcount of cattle marked by the state-managed markets — are released after a lag of one month. At this point, we know that remittances spiked by 25pc in July to $1.93 billion from $1.5bn in the same month of 2017. Some of this hike is attributed to Eidul Azha-related transfers by overseas Pakistanis.

The figures of Eid-induced cash withdrawals and the tally of additional payments to employees in the form of bonuses have yet to surface.

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Final figures are not available, but early indicators point to a massive Eidul Azha economy revolving primarily around cattle trade. Preparations for the festive occasion spur the sale of clothes, shoes and accessories, but the major share of Eid-centric liquidity is soaked up by qurbani.

“Counting their blessings in a pleasant weather this year, Pakistanis are all set to loosen the purse strings and delve deep in fervour to celebrate the religious festival of Eidul Azha. The visible level of the activity is more than the last year’s as male members of families hit the mandis and ladies frequent malls for preparation,” a market watcher commented.

The composition of the Eidul Azha market is expected to remain unaltered as Pakistanis switch in greater numbers to the ‘group’ segment to follow the religious tradition of sacrificing cattle in the name of Almighty.

“I would love to keep the affair exclusive, but my conditions do not permit the luxury any more. After several visits to the mandi over the past week, I have decided to pool in with neighbours for a collective qurbani as the prices are way beyond my reach. I settled for a pair of goats when cows became too expensive. Last year, I sacrificed one goat. My income increment has failed to keep pace with growing family expectations,” said a senior officer of the Punjab Livestock Department over the phone.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 17, 2020 at 5:41pm

#Pakistan's Rural Transformation With #Education, #Remittances, #Healthcare & #Communications: Motorized Vehicles replacing horses & bulls, sturdy brick/cement replacing mud houses, TVs & Mobile Phones everywhere, Migrant workers bringing money & ideas. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/685889-changing-landscape-of-villa...

Islamabad:The countryside life in far-flung areas of Pakistan, once considered totally isolated and secluded from the rest of the world and devoid of modern-day facilities, has undergone a massive transformation during the last two decades or so by changing the entire landscape of village life.

The rural life is often considered backward, fixed and hostage to tribal culture and traditions. Similarly, the popular social discourse that nothing has changed in Pakistan contradicts with historical facts.

Looking at the national picture of rural life in Pakistan rapid changes have occurred in almost all spheres of life from communication to education, socialization to healthcare, transportation to banking, governance to farming and cultivation to harvesting due to technological advancement, developmental works, penetration of information technology, remittances and domestic tourism.

Among others, the two factors of economic and technological developments as the agent of change had proved instrumental in shaping the process of change not only in the urban areas but also in suburbs of the country. Not more than twenty years ago when mobility was considered difficult in the remote areas not only due to missing road infrastructure but also due to poor transportation facilities.

‘Tonga,’ a carriage pulled by a horse, was the only facility for public transport while bullock-cart was commonplace phenomena for weight transportation in almost all small villages. The houses made of mud have also slowly been replaced by cemented buildings while the social structure was also changed due to disintegration of combined family structure to separate family system.

Likewise, only a few professions of handicrafts have survived due innovation to capture the pace of time and demand of the market while others have totally faded away. Similarly, the obsolete tools, techniques and methods are no more used in farming, cultivation and harvesting due to low production. Therefore, it could not survive at all in the face of modern technologies.

The media revolution in the country with more than 100 private TV channels has brought the whole world at the doorstep of the villagers while the mobile phone companies and 3G/4G technologies have brought it further closer to the palms of people. Hardly there is anyone left without having a smartphone even in the remotest parts of the country.

Almost everybody has got access to the unbridled flow of information on social media in every nook and corner of the country. Thus the electronic media and communication technologies have brought together the collective experiences of the whole world into rural households. The occupation and profession in rural areas once used to be farming and handicraft only. Now it has also transformed into government services, urban migration, overseas workers and businesses. The migrant workers are not only bringing money to the rural economy, but also ideas and experiences about how people in urban areas and the world outside live.

The villages, the basic components of civilization, where a large segment of society is living, have either transformed into model villages/towns or merged with nearby cities having urbanized lifestyle and lots of hustle and bustle. But in developed parts of the globe, the difference between village and city life is still quite visible due to well-planned construction, proper waste disposal mechanism, sewerage system, cleanliness and greenery.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 10, 2022 at 10:21pm

Bilal I Gilani
@bilalgilani
About 15 million Households take part in Eid Qurbani (Eid ul Azha)

Half say they sacrifice goat or sheep

Half take a share in cow

That's about 7.5 million goats/ sheep

About 1 million Cows sacrificed

(Rs) 280 billion (US$1.35 billion) on goats and (Rs) 100 billion (US$480 million) on cows spent

https://twitter.com/bilalgilani/status/1546357299115167746?s=20&...

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 7, 2023 at 6:58pm

As one of the most important occasions in Pakistan, Eid al-Adha generated an estimated revenue of over 1.74 billion U.S. dollars in sacrifices and related economic activities, with the sales of sacrificial animals and decorations witnessing a rise this year.

https://english.news.cn/20230628/d275a97254e2450980afb91e65eff0a3/c...


According to the latest statistics from Pakistan Tanners Association, Eid al-Adha generated estimated economic activity to the tune of 329 billion rupees (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022 in the country from sacrifices alone, with the amount surpassing 500 billion rupees (1.74 billion dollars) if related economic activities are included.

Talking to Xinhua, Mushtaq Malik, an animal trader at a make-shift animal market in eastern Rawalpindi district, said that a large number of buyers with their families are visiting the market and showing keen interest in sacrificial animals while indulging in hard bargaining and negotiations.

"We raised these animals with love and affection. They (customers) try to choose the best animal to sacrifice on this special occasion. Some affluent people don't care too much about the prices as their focus is to buy the best," Malik said.

He said that the price of each animal depends on age, weight and health, adding that the animal with the right weight and health would be sold at a higher price, and buyers know all about their options before purchasing the animals.

As the hustle and bustle is gradually increasing at cattle markets, some of the buyers seem rather unhappy about the unrealistically high prices of the animals, complaining that the prices have gone up substantially compared to last year.

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