Despite the government fixing rawhide price and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi's warning about the potential export, chaos over the sale of rawhides following Eid al-Azha continues.
Local seasonal traders allege that middlemen are forcing them to sell at their preferred prices, effectively selling hides at rock-bottom rates.
The government had set the price per piece of rawhide at around Tk800-900. However, middlemen are reportedly refusing to buy at prices exceeding Tk500.
The commerce minister had promised strict monitoring by law enforcement and the administration, but no action were observed in the past two days.
Rahman Sarkar, a seasonal rawhide trader in Rangpur, who procured 100 hides, said that the government had set the price of hides at Tk48 per square foot. Thus, medium-sized cow hides should sell for at least Tk700-800, and larger hides for Tk1,000-1,200.
“After considering vehicle rent and other expenses, my costs amounted to more than Tk600 per hide, but middlemen are unwilling to pay more than Tk500,” he lamented.
In many areas in Rangpur, rawhides have been discarded or donated to local madrasas due to the absence of buyers.
In Nilphamari, Local traders are selling hides for a pittance, causing an uproar among seasonal sellers.
Jahidul Islam, a seasonal trader, described how he was compelled to sell 30 hides he had procured at Tk450-500 apiece, for next to nothing in the market.
Leader of the Rangpur Hide Traders Association, Ali Akbar, blamed the syndicates for the ongoing crisis, accusing them of refusing to determine the price.
Another middleman, Momtazul Islam, asserted that it was impossible to buy hides at government-set prices due to increased costs of salt and labour.
Rangpur Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Md Rezaul Islam Milon criticized certain syndicate businessmen for their monopoly and non-compliance with the government's pricing, calling for urgent action.
