Tannery owners have agreed to a decision taken on payment of money they owed to hide and skin merchants in three phases.
The agreement came at a tripartite meeting between Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Tanners Association and Hide and Skin merchants held at FBCCI on Thursday (Aug 22).
The FBCCI was arbitrating the issue of non-payment of money accumulated over the years against the supply of rawhide and skin by merchants to tannery owners.
After the meeting, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim said that hide and skin merchants were asked to submit the outstanding amount of money and list of merchants.
"We have called another meeting on Aug 31. We would discuss the issue there. Tannery owners will pay the money in three phases," he said.
Representatives of the Bangladesh Hides and Skin Merchant Association (BHSMA), Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLFEA) were present at the meeting.
The FBCCI arranged the meeting at the directive of Commerce Minister.
On Aug 18, the commerce ministry organised a meeting to resolve the deadlock between the tanners and wholesalers as the latter announced that they would not sell rawhides to the tanners until they paid the Tk 4 billion owed to them.
The government set prices of per square foot of salt-treated cowhide and buffalo hide at Tk 45-50 in Dhaka and at Tk 35-40 elsewhere. The price of goatskin has been set at Tk 18-20 and Tk 13-15 for 'baqra' goat across the country.
Initially, rawhide wholesale traders had refused to sell hides to tanners as they were offering lower prices.