After the plight of seasonal sacrificial rawhide traders, it was merchants on Saturday who were crying foul on getting less than their expected prices. The prices were even lower than those set by the government.
Tanners began purchasing sacrificial rawhides on the day from the merchants and they would complete the rawhide purchasing process by the next one and half month.
Previously seasonal traders received significantly lower prices for the sacrificial rawhide from merchants right after Eid-ul-Azha.
Ain Uddin, a trader from Sylhet, brought 1,946 pieces of cow rawhides to sell at Posta in Old Dhaka after Eid-ul-Azha.
“On an average, the prices per piece of cowhide stood at Tk350 with all costs. But the hide merchant offered Tk200 per piece," Ain Uddin told Dhaka Tribune.
Now the merchants are claiming that they are not getting prices of rawhide as set by the government, through they bought at a cheap rate from seasonal traders.
Haji Mobarak Hossen, owner of Rafin Enterprise in Posta area, told Dhaka Tribune: “Our operating costs have also increased amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But we won’t get the expected price, as we are even getting a piece of large sized salted rawhide for Tk100-150 less than last year."
Lowering the price from last year by 30%, the government set a price of Tk35-40 per square foot of salted rawhide of sacrificed cattle in Dhaka, and Tk28-32 per square foot in other parts of the country.
On the other hand, the ongoing pandemic and floods in some parts of the country are putting people in great misery, resulting in low animal sacrifice figures this year. Consequently, rawhide collection has dropped, he said.
The General Secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), Shakawat Ullah, told Dhaka Tribune that some merchants were claiming that rawhide prices were worse than last year, but it was not true.
“We are dealing with the salt-dusted rawhides at the prices fixed by the Commerce Ministry,” he said.
Shakawat also said: “Our members have started buying salted rawhide since yesterday. Purchasing will continue for the next one and half months.”
This year prices of hide in the global market went down as demand for leather goods fell due to the pandemic. As a result, the government set the prices considering market demand, he added.
The BTA secretary said that the seasonal traders did not apply salt to the rawhide properly, so they would not get fair prices.
Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants’ Association General Secretary Tipu Sultan told Dhaka Tribune that salt-applied rawhide procurement had begun.
However, it has not started in full swing yet. The price will be understood when it starts. However, this year's leather collection will be much less, he remarked.
He also said 450,000 pieces of rawhide were collected last year, but this year the figure dropped to 300,000 pieces.
The fall in rawhide collection was mainly due to the relatively lower participation of people in animal sacrifices during Eid-ul-Azha owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the floods, he said.
About 50% of the total hide collection is met from sacrificial animals. According to the Bangladesh Tanners Association, people across the country sacrificed over one crore animals during Eid-ul-Azha last year.
The market in Posta is the biggest rawhide market of the country.
