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Online cow dung sales skyrocket
There was an unusual item flying off the virtual shelves; online retailers say cow dung patties are selling like hot cakes. Dung patties, which is cow poop mixed with hay and dried in the sun, that have long been available in India’s villages have now found their way on the digital end.
There is an unusual item flying off the virtual shelves; online retailers say cow dung patties are selling like hot cakes
There was an unusual item flying off the virtual shelves; online retailers say cow dung patties are selling like hot cakes. Dung patties, which is cow poop mixed with hay and dried in the sun, that have long been available in India’s villages have now found their way on the digital end.
Online retailers including Amazon and eBay are now reaching out to the country's ever-increasing urban population, feeding into the desire of older city folks to hearken back to their childhood in the village, by selling the dung patties on their e-stores.
Some retailers say they are offering discounts for large orders and customers are asking for gift wrapping. "Cow dung cakes have been listed by multiple sellers on our platform since October and we have received several customer orders since then,” said Madhavi Kochar, an Amazon India spokesperson.
“The orders come mostly from cities where it is difficult to buy dung cakes,” she added. In India, cow dung cakes have been used for centuries for fires, whether for heating, cooking or Hindu rituals. Across rural India, piles of drying cow dung are ubiquitous.
Radhika Agarwal of ShopClues, said that the demand for the cow dung cakes spiked during the recent Diwali season. So much so that recently, ShopClues showed that the patties had sold out!
"Increasingly, in the cold weather, people are keeping themselves warm by lighting fires at outdoor events,” she said, adding that people who grew up in rural areas find the peaty smell of dung fires pleasant. "It reminds them of the old days," she explained.
Online retailers said people that were also buying the dung cakes to light fires for ritual ceremonies to mark the beginning of the New Year and for the harvest festival like Lohri, and Sankranti. Meanwhile, in many cities, packaged cow dung patties were sold by push cart vendors.
The cakes are sold in packages that contain two to eight pieces weighing 200 grams each. Prices range from 100 to 400 rupees per package. (With agency inputs)
