Market woes: Rawhide traders disappointed by low prices
Despite tanners' assurances to buy cowhides for over Tk800 and salt-preserved ones for over Tk1,000, grassroots sellers, who hoped for better prices to donate more to the poor, are frustrated.
Mahbub Ul Alam, an accountant in Brahmanbaria, said he was disappointed because no commercial collectors were willing to offer a higher price than Tk150 for a bull they had purchased for Tk91,000.
Farhan, who sacrificed a cow purchased for Tk 2.1 lakh in the capital's Moghbazar area, said, "We donated it to the nearby Madrasah, which assisted us in slaughtering the sacrificial cattle."
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He has been doing this for the last five years, with his friends joining him every year.
There is a growing trend of people donating rawhides to religious entities such as mosques and madrasas.
"We are buying a cow's rawhide at Tk850 on average, and will purchase salt-preserved ones for over Tk1,000," said Md Shaheen Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tanners Association.
Mohammad, a religious teacher at Moghbazar Madrasah which received almost all the rawhide in the area, told The Business Standard, "We trust the tanners to pay the announced price, and we are collecting them. A fair price will support our impoverished students in continuing their education."
His office set up a temporary desk on the roadside, offering coffee, water, and smiles to people.
"People are curious about any fundamental issues in the seasonal rawhide market, given that over a crore animals are sacrificed every year during Eid-ul-Adha.
Mahbub said, "In the early 2000s, we used to sell a cowhide for over Tk1,000 when the cow itself cost us between Tk15,000 and Tk25,000."
He further said, "Leather sandals that used to cost Tk500 are now five times more expensive, cows of the same quality are selling for 7-8 times higher, yet rawhide is selling at one-sixth the previous price."
Mamun, an SME entrepreneur in Dhanmondi, pointed out a significant gap between field prices and end prices in the value chain, describing it as a missing math that remains unknown.
"I have incurred losses in three of the past five years in the seasonal business of procuring rawhide and selling them to tanners, and I have decided to no longer pursue this business," he said.
Hazi Md Tipu Sultan, general secretary of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association, stated that the preservation cost for rawhide is around Tk350.
He emphasised that if tanners do not offer a price of above Tk1,400 for salt-preserved ones within the next seven days, traders will face losses.
Shaheen Ahmed, chairman of the Bangladesh Tanners' Association (BTA), said the depreciation of rawhide value is primarily due to the inadequate environmental standards in the tannery sector.
He stated that the central tannery park at Savar has yet to ensure the services of a central effluent treatment plant, contributing to this issue.
He added that the sudden oversupply during Eid-ul-Adha makes it challenging for them to procure and process rawhide.
"Only a few tanners in Bangladesh are fetching a good price for processed leather, as they adhere to the environmental standards required by international buyers," Shaheen said.
The BTA chairman urged everyone to adopt proper techniques for cutting and preserving hides, which would increase the procurement rate for tanners.
Alam, a vegetable trader from Madaripur, mentioned that no one came to purchase the hide of the cow he bought for Tk1.6 lakh during Eid-ul-Adha. Eventually, he donated it to a nearby Madrasah charity fund.
The government estimates that 1.2 crore animals will be slaughtered this Eid-ul-Adha. This has prompted hide traders across Bangladesh to preserve their hides with salt for seven days before selling them to tanners, primarily concentrated in Dhaka.
Furthermore, the government has provided free salt to orphanages to assist them in preserving hides for future sale.
