Paying little heed to the government’s advice of restraint, as the potentially devastating fourth wave of Covid-19 threatens Pakistan, people celebrated Eid-Ul-Adha with traditional fervour as activity-starved youth were seen moving in groups visiting cattle mandis.
The multi-billion rupees Eid market that shrunk to half in 2020 covered much of the lost ground this year.
A surge in activity was also observed in Eid related shopping in clothing, footwear and accessories segments with women and children thronging malls and bazaars. Fearing a spike in Covid cases other provinces are watching closely but Sindh Government has imposed stiff restrictions from today as health infrastructure started creaking with patients load.
Last year economic slump and the lockdown curbed Eid related businesses. Improved economic conditions, social distancing fatigue and the religiosity triggered by pandemic fears converged to mobilise people at the holy festival. In the absence of firmed up data, it is hard to project the actual size of the Eid-Ul-Adha economy but careful estimates put it in the vicinity of Rs175 billion up from Rs100bn in 2020.
More dependable indicators such as the volume and value of hides procured by tanneries, spike in remittances, cash withdrawal from banks, the volume of online business and digitised money transfers will emerge later but early estimations point to a volume way bigger than before.
“There is consensus that total Eid business has surged in 2021,”
