Relevant people in the leather sector have warned seasonal leather traders to be careful in buying hide this year. There are several layers in the selling of hide and, at the second layer are hoarders. Seasonal leather traders sell hide to them. However, since hoarders did not get the payment for last year’s leather from tannery owners, they do not have sufficient money to buy new leather this year.
Consequently, many hides will remain unsold. President of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchant Association, Delwar Hossain, says: “We do not have sufficient money to buy leather this year; eighty to eighty five percent tannery owners did not pay for last year’s leather. Once or two tanneries have paid the full amount.”
Saying that seasonal traders must buy hide at the rate fixed by government, he added: “if hide is preserved in salt, the chances of incurring a loss diminishes.”
Last year, two trucks of hide became rotten as they were not properly preserved in salt, he lamented.
President of the Bangladesh Tanners’ Association, Shahin Ahmed, adds: “Seasonal traders often do not get the right price since they want to sell the hide on Eid day; if they hold on to the hide and sell them later they will get the right price.”
As per the information of the ministry of livestock, the number of animals eligible to be slaughtered this year is 11.8 million, which was 11.5 million last year.
The ministry feels that of this, 11 million may actually be slaughtered this year.
Traders say that their target is to purchase 10 million hides, compared to 11.5 million last year.
General secretary of Bangladesh Tanners’ Association, Sakhawat Ullah, observes: “Due to flood, leather collection may not increase though the target is to collect 8.5 million hides.”
The price of hide has been fixed so seasonal traders are not duped, he said adding: “We will only buy leather which has been salted.”
This year, per square feet of raw hide will be between Tk 45 and Tk 50 in Dhaka and between Tk 35 and Tk 40 outside the city. The price of goat skin will be between Tk 18 and Tk 2 per square feet and Tk 13 and Tk 15 for lamb skins.
The purchased hide is preserved with hoarders; they make Tk 35 profit for each piece and then sends them to the tanneries, who then process them to produce different items. These are then exported.