Drama over rawhide intensifies as govt plans export

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Golam Mowla
Published : 00:00, Aug 16, 2019 | Updated : 08:42, Aug 17, 2019

Hoarders blame tannery owners for the fall in the price of rawhide. FILE PHOTOChairman of Bangladesh Tanners’ Association, Shahin Ahmed, said that even with government permission, exporting collected hide would be difficult this year.
Saying that exporting raw hide is complex, he added: “We do not have the logistics to export rawhide; special containers will be needed, market has to be created and LC has to be opened. All this will take time.”
But there was no way to export hides at this moment; however, if there was a delay in exporting raw hide then common people would not benefit, he added.
Shahin said that if rawhide was exported the local industry would be in jeopardy.
“If the government had taken a decision to export rawhide several months earlier and after talking to us, then the underprivileged people linked to the trade of raw hide would not be cheated.”
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Tanners’ Association, BTA, declared that it would buy hide at the rates fixed by the government from Saturday (Aug 17).
A decision in this regard was taken on Aug 14 after a meeting with Mofizul Islam, senior secretary of the ministry of commerce.
Tannery owners hinted that the government’s decision to export hide could also be scrapped.
President of the Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants’ Association, Delwar Hossain, said: “Rawhide has never been exported in the past; the matter is new and therefore, will need time; if hide is exported, the people who sacrifice animals will get the right price for the skins.”
On Tuesday (Aug 13), the government decided to allow the export of rawhide. The district administration and other upazila level officers were ordered to take necessary measures.
In the last 31 years, animal hide sold at the lowest rate this year; seasonal traders paid less than Tk 200 for a hide from a Tk 80,000 cow. Many people simply threw away their hides, while others left them on the road.
Leaders of Bangladesh Tanners’ Association and wholesale traders blame each other for the low rate of hide.
Chairman of the tanner’s association, Shahin Ahmed, blamed hoarders.
Using the excuse that bills of previous years had not been paid, unscrupulous hoarders took advantage of low rates of raw hide, bemoaned Shahin.
Meanwhile, hoarders said they could not buy rawhide since they were not paid by the tannery owners.
Leader of the hoarders, Delwar Hossain, added: “the tannery owners are responsible for the fall in the price of rawhide; they did not pay last’ year’s arrears. They owe us more than Tk 3 billion.”
'I suggest forming a powerful syndicate to find the root cause of the debacle, 'he commented.

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