The collection and preservation of sacrificial animal rawhides are now in full swing at the Savar BSCIC Tannery Industrial Estate area.
Rawhides are arriving at various tanneries by truck from Dhaka and surrounding regions.
Within just 24 hours, around 3,50,000 pieces of rawhides were transported to the factories, significantly intensifying operations across the tannery zone.
On Sunday, a visit to the site revealed that the Savar tannery area has turned into a bustling industrial city.
Factory owners and workers are spending a busy time collecting and processing the sacrificial hides.
The influx of hides from the capital and nearby districts began on Saturday afternoon.
Tannery owners are procuring these raw hides from various madrasas, orphanages, wholesalers and seasonal traders.
The process of salting the hides for preservation is currently in progress.
Md Nurul Islam, a worker at Modhu Hazi Tannery, said: “We started applying salt yesterday (Saturday) followed by cutting and soaking. Tomorrow (Monday) the hides will be taken down and put through the fleshing machine. After fleshing, they will be loaded into drums and the following day, chemicals will be applied.”
Tannery owners mentioned that hide collection from Dhaka and surrounding areas will continue for the next 10 days, after which salted hides from outside Dhaka will be brought to the Savar tanneries.
They further said that the hides are being purchased at the government-fixed price.
However, stakeholders in the leather industry have expressed disappointment over the government’s decision regarding the export of raw and wet blue hides.
Md Emon Islam, manager of Modhu Hazi Tannery, said: “Hides started arriving at our tannery from around 10:30pm last night (Saturday night). We are receiving hides from distant areas and the arrivals continued until around 10am, this morning (Sunday). We are now preserving them with salt, where they will remain for 10 to 15 days before moving on to the next stage of processing.”
He added: “Based on the government-fixed price for salted hides, we plan to gradually start collecting hides from wholesalers outside Dhaka within a week or 10 days. Thankfully, we are receiving hides in good condition this year."
He further said: "Compared to previous years, our collection is about 15% to 20% lower. Various factors could be responsible, such as reduced economic capacity or the overall state of the country’s economy.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Md Obaidur Rahman, Secretary of the Ministry of Industries, visited the tannery industrial estate to observe its operations.
He said: “There was a time when the export of raw and wet blue hides was allowed. Later, it was banned in the interest of the country. Now, if fair prices are not available in the domestic market, exporting the hides collected from traders could ensure better value. Therefore, the option to export raw hides has been retained as a contingency measure, though this does not mean it will be implemented routinely—it will be considered only if circumstances demand."
This year, tannery owners aim to collect around 10 million pieces of hides.
