Libyan citizens from various groups of society complained about the unprecedented rise in the prices of Eid sacrifices for this year, which recorded an increase ranging between 30 and 40 percent compared to last year, despite the relative stability in the exchange value of hard currencies.
Today, Thursday, delegates from the Libyan News Agency surveyed the opinions of male and female citizens and livestock traders who met them during their roaming in markets in the Greater Tripoli area and beyond.
Khadija Omar (a 60-year-old housewife who receives a security salary) said that she is unable to buy a sacrifice this year because of the extreme increase in prices, noting that the prices of last year, despite their increase, did not reach this level.
Faraj Ali (retired), who was met by the agency representative in the Tajoura market (the eastern suburb of the capital), said, “I will not be able to buy a sacrifice this year. My pension, which amounts to less than a thousand dinars, does not enable me to buy a sacrifice. He asked with great resentment what should a simple citizen do?”
Houria Al-Shayeb (a widow with five children) said that the price of the sacrifice this year is twice the retirement salary she receives.
And Zahra Milad (a mother of seven children who works in the morning and evening shifts) added that she gave up meeting most of the essential needs of her family and home for two months in order to save the price of buying the sacrifice, which cost her two thousand dinars.
And the Libyan News Agency monitored, by following the local markets in Tripoli and its environs, that the prices of sacrificial animals ranged between 1,300 and 3,000 dinars, while the price of imported sheep ranged from 800 dinars (for sheep imported from Romania) to 1,250 dinars (for sheep imported from Spain).
Sources from the Ministry of Economy of the Government of National Unity revealed, in press statements last April, efforts to import 600,000 head of livestock to cover the local market’s need to reduce prices and provide sacrifices for Eid al-Adha.
The Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohamed Al-Hawij, told the Libyan News Agency on June 9 that ships loaded with live sheep and calves arrived at the ports of Benghazi, Al-Khums and Tripoli, estimated at 144,000 heads of sheep and cows.
Al-Hawij indicated that ships will arrive successively at the Libyan ports, which will provide, according to him, a surplus of live sheep in the Libyan market, expressing his belief that the arrival of these shipments will lead to lower prices or at least their stability in the next stage, ruling out any increase in prices with the approach of Eid.
Sheep breeder in the Ghanima region (east of Tripoli), Muhammad Ali, stated that the reason for the high prices of sacrifices in this excessive manner is due to the high prices of fodder, which reached 280 dinars per quintal, while the National Company for Mills and Fodder reported through its official page last April about providing Fattening feed for sheep for breeders at 160 dinars per quintal.
Adel Shteiwi said that the market suffers from a rise in prices due to the lack of sufficient imported sacrificial animals, despite the arrival of some shipments from Romania and Spain.
Many citizens wishing to buy sacrificial animals confirmed that whoever earns a salary in the range of 1,500 dinars will find it difficult to buy the sacrificial animal this year.
One of the livestock dealers in the Al-Khallah region (south of Tripoli), Faraj Ali, said that the prices of sacrificial animals exceeded expectations, despite the availability of liquidity in banks, which encouraged merchants to raise prices as a result of raising the withdrawal ceiling.
He added that the imported sacrifices from abroad do not currently cover the local market, despite their arrival from Spain and Romania.
Citizens wishing to purchase the sacrificial animals, whom a representative of the Libyan News Agency spoke to, revealed that they were surprised by the high level of prices this year, noting that whoever earns a salary of 1,500 dinars would find it difficult to buy the sacrifice this year.
Some of the livestock traders met by LANA’s delegate in the Tajoura market attributed the high prices to the import companies’ failure to obtain credits from the Central Bank of Libya, which prompted them to resort to buying foreign currency from the parallel market.
The prices of meat in Libya have recorded a significant increase during the past six months, and continued to rise during the month of Ramadan, to settle between 52 to 60 dinars for local sheep and goats 55 dinars, cows from 38 to 48 dinars, cattle from 43 to 55 dinars, and camels from 25 to 38 dinars. .
According to last year’s statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, seen by the Libyan News Agency, Libya consumes between one million and one million and two hundred thousand heads of sheep on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
Ahmed Ali (a sheep breeder from the Western Mountain region) revealed that there are several factors that led to the increase in the prices of sacrifices, including the lack of rain and the high price of fodder and vaccines, in addition to the high cost of transportation and smuggling of sheep to neighboring countries due to the low exchange rate of the Libyan dinar.
Muftah al-Warfalli, a livestock trader from Bani Walid, said that the torrential rains that hit several areas this year, including Bani Walid and the Jabal region, led to the death of many livestock, which contributed to the rise in the prices of sacrificial animals this year.
Libyan citizens still hope, five days before Eid al-Adha, that prices will drop due to the lack of demand resulting from the high prices and the reluctance of many of them to perform this ritual.
Source: Libyan News Agency
