Rawhide prices low, tanners blamed

Prices of rawhides look bleak this peak trading season as the traders offer moderate prices for the animal skins in the city.

Firsthand sellers complained that tanners were offering much lower prices this Eid.

They said the number of buyers of sacrificial animal skins this year is relatively low and prices ‘unfair.’

In many places, sellers could not trade rawhides until evening and they were offered ‘rock-bottom’ prices.

The price of the raw skin of a bull that was sold at Tk 100,000, was only Tk 500.

Sellers of rawhides were embarrassed to be in such a state of trading of extremely perishable products.

Mozammel Haque, a resident of Mohammadpur, said he slaughtered a bull at around 8:00 AM but could not sell the hide until evening. He sold a piece of skin at Tk 700. The price of the sacrificial animal was Tk 240,000.

Rezwan Rahman, a seasonal skin trader in the same area, said he used to buy 400 to 500 pieces of animal skins. This time he bought only 50 pieces.  

“I went to Posta market and sold those at Tk 500 each. I used to sell it at Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000 a couple of years ago,” he said.

“Seasonal traders like us are not making money. I am not getting proper prices. The tanners have kept the prices low for their own benefit,” the man said.

He said such low prices have made traders like him destitute.

Rawhide traders in Posta, Lalbagh of the capital, claim that the market is a bit down compared to the previous year, and that the sellers are getting ‘right prices’ for the animal skins.

Leather trader Kamal Hossain said he had to buy rawhide at Tk 40 per square feet. Madrasa students are also coming to the area to sell what they have received as gifts.

“Normally, I sell salted skin at Tk 40-Tk 45 per square feet. Now, I have to buy raw skin at Tk 40 per square feet. The hides that I bought last year for Tk 500, have gone up to Tk 700 or Tk 800, respectively," Kamal said.

Saiful Islam, another trader, said rawhide market is not bearish at all.

“If I could buy it at Tk 30, I could sell salted hides at Tk 45. But I am buying rawhide at Tk 40 now,” Saiful said.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection has taken steps to prevent irregularities in the sale, storage and transportation of raw hides of sacrificial animals.

On Wednesday, a campaign was launched to prevent irregularities in the sale of raw hides in different parts of the capital. On the day of Eid-ul-Azha, 6 teams worked in Mohammadpur, Lalbagh and Hazaribagh areas.

Assistant Director of the Directorate, Abdul Jabbar Mandal said under the direction of his office special care was being taken to prevent any irregularities in the trading, storage and transportation of raw hides.

“The campaign will continue for five days from the day of Eid. In this special operation, strict action will be taken if any irregularity is found with the raw skin of the sacrificial animal”, he warned.

This year, the government has fixed the prices of salted raw hide of bulls at Tk 40 to Tk 45 per square feet in Dhaka and Tk 33 to Tk 37 outside Dhaka. The price of a castrated goat skin has been set at Tk 15 to Tk 17 per square feet and Tk 12 to Tk 14 for a she-goat hide.

Many blamed Covid-19 pandemic for this flattened rawhide market. Because of the pandemic, a large number of the Madrashas are not soliciting donations. Most of the city’s animal skins are generally donated to the Muslim religious institutions.