Eid al-Adha livestock prices surge in Nineveh market despite border reopening

NINEVEH — Sheep are fetching up to 500,000 dinars ($327) per head and cattle up to 3.5 million dinars ($2,288) at the Barghaliya livestock market in Ayadiya, west of Nineveh, as traders report sharp price increases ahead of Eid al-Adha despite good grazing conditions and the recent reopening of the Rabia border crossing.

Broker Khudair Ibrahim said the crossing’s reopening had not yet affected prices because of the limited number of animals entering through it so far. Despite abundant rainfall and good grazing land this season, meat prices had reached around 20,000 dinars ($13) per kilogram. “The current market movement is weaker than in previous years because of high prices,” he said.

The market, one of the main livestock trading centers near Tal Afar, primarily trades Naeemi and Awassi sheep alongside limited numbers of Hejazi and Iranian breeds, with animals arriving from Hawija and western Nineveh. Broker Fadhil al-Arouri said prices for a pair of sheep start from 650,000 dinars ($425) and reach 1.5 million dinars ($980). Lactating ewes range between 1 million and 1.2 million dinars ($653-$784) per head depending on breed and milk yield.

Cattle start at 1.5 million dinars ($980) per head and reach 3.5 million dinars ($2,288), while dairy cattle range from 2.5 million to 4.5 million dinars ($1,634-$2,941), according to broker Hamoud Taha, who said buyers travel from Mosul and across Nineveh to the market. “Prices this year are higher than last year, but demand is still good as Eid approaches,” he said.

The increases come as Iraq continues tightening oversight of livestock movement following foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in several parts of the country and neighboring Syria. Iraq recorded thousands of infections and hundreds of cattle and buffalo deaths earlier this year, prompting movement restrictions and expanded vaccination campaigns across multiple governorates.