Tannery owners will be buying per square foot of raw cow hides at Tk70 to Tk75 in the capital and Tk60 to Tk65 across the country during Eid-ul-Azha this year, cutting raw hide prices by more than 16% than last year.
Tanners also fixed that per square feet of goat hides will be bought at Tk30 to Tk35 in the capital and Tk25 to Tk30 for “Baqra” goats, and Tk35 to Tk40 for buffalo hides from the hide collectors.
Bangladesh Finished Leather and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLFEA) President Abu Taher announced this year's raw hide prices at a press conference at the association's Dhanmondi office yesterday.
Last year, the government set per square feet of raw cow hides prices at Tk85 to Tk90 in Dhaka and Tk75 to Tk80 elsewhere. The price of goat hide per square feet was at Tk50 to Tk55, Tk40-45 for Baqra goat and buffalo hides at Tk40 to Tk45.
This year, however, three trade bodies – Bangladesh Tanners' Association (BTA), Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchant Association and BFLFEA – fixed the purchase price. Like last year, businessmen this year, too, demanded market-driven hide prices.
Leather producers also argued that the country's leather industry was suffering losses as the government had withdrawing its incentives and claimed that they fall into a deeper crisis if the government had fixed the price for this year.
Earlier on Wednesday, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed asked the rawhide traders to fix the prices by Friday, considering the global market price.
The rawhide traders had long been reluctant to set the prices of hides, reasoning that their prices were falling in the international market.
But sources said the international market witnesses a rising demand of animal hides.
"We will procure hides at this rate. We request the seasonal businessmen to not buy hides at rates higher than this. Otherwise, they will incur losses," BTA chairman Shahin Ahmed told the press briefing.
He also urged seasonal traders to apply salt on the hides within six hours of slaughtering the animal to preserve the skin.
Shahin said tanneries expect to collect some 7.5 million animal hides this year. According to the government's livestock resources department, around 6.53 million animals were slaughtered during the Eid-ul-Azha last year.
Of which, around 3.31 million were cows and 2.24 million goats.
BFLFEA Chairman M Abu Taher reading out a written statement said they have fixed the price as per the international rate.
“We had to lower the price as recently price have fallen,” he claimed.
Though the tanners usually collect raw hides all over the year, they find a special opportunity to collect huge amounts of animal hides during the Eid-ul-Azha. A total of around 58 percent hides of every years' collection have been collected during this time.
Normally, Muslims sell their sacrificing animals' hides to the middle men or seasonal traders and give the money to the poor. In the end, the hides reach the tanneries.
Asked about the international rate, Shahin claimed that rawhide prices have fallen by 20 to 25 cents.