Despite unfavorable weather and high salt prices, prices of sacrificial rawhide rose marginally with seasonal and permanent dealers saying they are happy with the prices.
However, the constant monsoon rain since Eid has created concerns about damaging the rawhide.
Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) General Secretary Sakhawat Ullah told Dhaka Tribune: “This time we have set a target of collecting about 10 million pieces of rawhide from sacrificial animals after Eid. Within the first two days, we collected 400,000 to 450,000 pieces of rawhide directly. Another 9 to 9.5 million salted rawhide will be collected from all over the country. Our collection of salted rawhide will start a week after Eid.”
Aftab Khan, president of the Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants' Association told Dhaka Tribune that too much rain might damage the rawhide. It is estimated that around 10% of raw hides might be destroyed due to the rain.
“Every year traders count losses due to the damages, but if it crosses the 10% mark, it will be a heavy blow for the traders,” he said.
He also said the wholesale merchants in Posta have already processed 100,000 units of salted cattle skin. “We hope the number will reach 150.000 units this year, higher than 140,000 of that last year.”
Rawhide price
Seasonal and permanent traders reported that raw leather prices have risen somewhat this year compared to last year. Seasonal vendors are able to ask for higher rates ranging from Tk50 to Tk150 per skin.
However, seasonal dealers argue that, while the price of leather has increased marginally, it is still significantly cheaper than the government prices.
In response to lower-than-government-set pricing, the president of the Hide and Skin Merchants' Association stated: "We buy unsalted rawhide. The price is not determined by the government. For a Tk800 cowhide, 8 to 10 kg of salt should be put on average and as a result, Tk220 more is spent on salt. The technical cost is Tk60-Tk70, the shipping cost is Tk20-Tk30 and the labour cost per cowhide is Tk40. As a result, Tk300 to Tk350 is wasted on processing the Tk800 leather."
"If you add 10% of the value of damage rawhide to this, the cost will go up even more," he explained.
The government fixes the price of salted rawhide every year, but the price of unsalted rawhide is regulated by negotiations with seasonal and permanent traders.
Thousands of rawhide have already been purchased by Mamun and Brothers, a rawhide trading firm in Posta, Dhaka's largest cattle skin market, over the three-day Eid holiday.
They are currently preparing salt for preservation.
According to Hazi Mohammad Zakir Hossain, the firm's purchasing in charge, rawhide costs Tk28 to Tk31 per square foot, depending on quality and size. They also had to pay Tk 18 for preservation, labour, and transportation.
The company charged Tk550 to Tk1,100 for rawhide measuring 20 to 25 square feet and raised the price of every piece by at least Tk100 over the previous year.
On the other hand, on June 24, the government raised the price of salted cowhides in Dhaka by 6%, to Tk50-55 per square foot.
Outside of the capital, rates have risen to Tk45-48 per square foot.
However, goat hide prices remained steady, with male goat hides at Tk18-20 per square foot and female goat skins at Tk12-14 per square foot.
Sacrificial animals
According to the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), 1,00,41,812 animals were slaughtered out of a total of 1,25,36,333 this year. It means that around 2.5 million animals remained unsold or sacrificed.
Last year, 99,50,763 animals were sacrificed, and 21,69,717 remained unsold, a 9.43% increase over 2021.
This year, however, 1,00,41,000 animals were sacrificed and as a result, the number of sacrifices increased by only 0.91%.
At the same time, the rate of sacrifice also decreased by 8.5% Year on Year (YOY).
