Media reports on rawhide price misleading: Tanners

Describing media reports of rawhide price sharply falling as ‘misleading’, tanners claimed the reported cases were ‘isolated incidents’.
“The news reports claiming prices have hit a three-decade low will stoke smuggling out of hide. We urge the authorities to step up border patrolling for at least one more month,” Bangladesh Tanners’ Association (BTA) Chairman Md Shaheen Ahamed told a media briefing on Saturday.
He made it clear that tanners will not buy rawhide at higher prices from seasonal traders and charity organisations (mostly madrasas).
“Tannery owners will buy salted leathers at the price fixed earlier; unsalted leather will not be procured. Tanners will buy properly salted leather from seasonal traders within the next one week,” said the BTA leader.
Assuring seasonal traders, who are yet to sell off their merchandise, of no losses, Ahamed said, “Properly salted leather can be preserved for up to three months ... Do not worry. You will get the right price if it’s preserved properly.”
Tanners had targeted to procure 5.5 million cow hide and 3.5 million goat hide this season, said the BTA chairman adding: “We have already achieved it. But we are yet to sell 40 to 45 percent of last year’s stock. So the demand is a bit low, but we are trying our level best to procure all the rawhides.”
Claiming that most of the tanneries were not in production, Ahamed said, “Production in the last two years dropped due to moving the industry to Savar, which has caused exports to fall.”
The BTA chief said that tanners are suffering from capital crisis due to shifting factories.
“Only 42 tanneries secured bank loans this year. The rest were denied as they failed to clear their dues with banks. Moreover, the global demand has fallen,” he said explaining the reason behind the drop in rawhide prices.