4. Characteristics of buffalo traders and their business status at Bhola district in Bangladesh

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the demographic characteristics of buffalo traders, current buffalo business status, and challenges of this business in the Bhola district of Bangladesh. Hence, a face-to-face interview with 16 buffalo traders (male, age above 25 years) was conducted using simple random sampling. Among the traders, 75% have completed primary education, 12.5% have passed higher secondary certificate (HSC), and the remaining 12.5% were illiterate. Approximately 75% of the traders sold female buffalo as surplus stock, and 56.25% traders indicated that both males and females had an excellent selling demand in the market. Roughly 81.25% of the buffalo traders thinks that they could not meet the consumer demand for buffalo; however, buffalo availability increased in 2021 compared to 2016-2020, as indicated by 87.5% of the buffalo traders. Generally, buffalo pricing was fixed by assuming the live weight only. Over the year, buffen costs at the local market ranged from 478 to 586 BDT per kg, with an average of 523 BDT. About 37.5% of the buffalo traders thought that minimizing buffen price volatility is a key challenge in the studied area, followed by transportation issues (12.5%) during buying or selling live buffalo. Data obtained in the present study could provide some background to develop a sustainable buffalo value chain in Bangladesh.