Srinagar: With Eid-ul-Zuha falling on Saturday, the live-stock traders in Jammu and Kashmir are estimated to earn over Rs 80 crore ahead of it.

According to Dr. J.P. Sharma, Jammu and Kashmir Sheep and Sheep Products Board chief, over 200,000 sheeps and goats are normally sacrificed on the eve of Eid itself.

The price for one kilo of mutton could vary anywhere between Rs. 95 per kilogram to Rs. 110 per kilogram, which puts the cost of an average weigh sheep at Rs 4000. And the amount for 200,000 sheep means 80 crore in earnings, Sharma added.

Abdul Gafar, a livestock trader in the Kashmir Valley who had an investment of Rs. 100,000 last year, is optimistic about doubling his earnings.

“I do not sell my cattle every year. I come here on an alternate basis and one year of nurture proves good enough for farm animals to be raised in a healthy way especially so that they grow up in a good physical shape,” Gafar said.

With demand mounting during the festive season, traders from different states, including Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat, have also brought their animals to the state.

According to reports, at least 50,000 sheeps and goats are being brought in from other states before Eid-ul-Zuha.