Ettayapuram goat market abuzz with Deepavali fervour

The market will usually meet on Saturdays, this year as Deepavali falls on that day, the traders advanced the sales a day ahead on Friday. A large number of goats are brought before Deepavali for meat and the traders are particular to purchase them from the Ettayapuram goat market every year.  The main reason for preferring goats from the Ettayapuram market is that the animals are home-grown and there is less chance for hybrid varieties to come into the sandy. “People love the meat of original country breed and they are sourced from various parts of the southern districts,” said a trader. One of the traders Shanmugam from Sattur in Virudhunagar district said “Last year I brought a 10 kg goat meat for Rs 4,000, but this year I paid Rs 5,000 for the same weight of the animal.”

 Traders buy goat in large numbers as the demand will be high this time as the celebrations falls on a weekend. But, farmers who are participating in the market said that the volume of trade has dipped compared to previous year. “However, the margin of profit is high this time,” said a farmer who sold his goats in the market.  They added that even smaller goat markets have cropped up at various places across Tirunelveli this year.