Is it possible to buy a sacrificial animal with the minimum wage?

With the approach of Eid al-Adha, the increase in the prices of sacrificial animals is drawing attention. How the prices of large and small sacrificial animals have changed over the last eight years has become a subject of curiosity.

According to data from a retail chain, the number of sacrificial animals that can be purchased with the minimum wage has decreased significantly since 2017. While 1.29 small sacrificial animals could be purchased with the minimum wage in 2017, the ratio for a 1/7 share of a large sacrificial animal was 1.18. However, while the purchasing power of the minimum wage for sacrificial animals peaked in 2019 and 2021, these ratios have fallen to their lowest levels as of 2025.

CHANGE IN SACRIFICIAL ANIMAL PRICES

While the prices of small and large sacrificial animals followed a similar trend until 2022, a difference in favor of large animals emerged in 2023. In 2017, the price of a small sacrificial sheep providing approximately 20 kilos of meat was 1,090 TL, while this figure rose to 20,950 TL in 2025. Similarly, the price of a 1/7 share in a large sacrificial animal providing 20 kilos of boneless meat increased from 1,190 TL to 25,950 TL.

PURCHASING POWER OF THE MINIMUM WAGE FOR SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS

This increase in the prices of sacrificial animals becomes more apparent when compared to the minimum wage. While the ratio of the minimum wage to the price of a small sacrificial animal was 1.29 in 2017, this ratio rose to around 1.5 in 2019 and 2021. However, in 2025, the ratio of the minimum wage, which is 22,104 TL, to the price of a small sacrificial animal fell to 1.06. For large sacrificial animals, the ratio, which was 1.18 in 2017, fell below 1 after 2023, making the purchase of large animals more difficult.