Amid the slump in rawhide prices, the markets extending from Dhanmondi 32 to Science Lab areas in Dhaka picked up later on Monday (Aug 12) evening.

The markets saw an assortment of rawhide coming in from various localities of Dhaka.

The wholesalers, tannery representatives and hoarders were also flocking to Hazaribag to buy the rawhide while the seasonal traders were selling off the hide at cheap rates, afraid it will rot otherwise.

The wholesalers had become more active under the circumstances to reap the benefits of cheap rates.

On Monday, wholesaler Robiul told Bangla Tribune that he was buying the hide for an average of Tk 500 and had bought 500 pieces of hide.

Echoing Robiul, trader Mohammad Mohsin said that even the larger hides could be fetched for Tk 600 per piece.

The seasonal traders have said that they were selling off the hides at cheaper rates to avoid losses since wholesalers and hoarders were buying the hides at rates lower than those fixed by the government.

Madrassah teacher Sahab Uddin said that the wholesalers knew the hide would begin to rot with time and were cashing in on that fear as seasonal traders like himself were trying to sell off the hide before the end of the day.

Spot visits found that the buyers and sellers were both wasting little time in reaching an agreement over prices while the wholesalers and hoarders bought the hides on an average no higher than Tk 600 per piece

Wholesale trader Anowar Hossain said that half the hides from the Science Lab market would go to Hemayetpur in Savar by Monday night to be salted. The other half would be taken to Hazaribag and Posta for now, he added. 

While Madrassah students and orphanage authorities managed to collect hides in Dhaka free of cost, seasonal traders had also managed to collect hides from the different neighbourhoods in the city at cheap rates.

On Monday night, hoarders at Posta of Old Dhaka were seen busy salting the hides which began arriving there since afternoon from various parts of the city. 

 President of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association, Delwar Hossain said, “We do not have enough cash this year and therefore, won’t be able to buy leather; more than 80 per cent of tannery owners could not even clear payment for last year’s hide.”

Only one or two tanneries have made full payments for last year’s purchase, he observed.

He feared that due to lack of cash, many hides won’t be sold and therefore, will rot in the end.