A group of hide and skin merchants passing idle time at a warehouse at Posta in the capital on Saturday following their association's decision of not selling rawhides to tanners until payment of arrears — FE Photo Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) on Saturday decided to put on hold sales of rawhide to the tanners until their arrears are paid.
The decision came in the wake of the recent rawhide market debacle.
The hide and skin merchants came up with the decision after a meeting at its office in the city's Lalbagh area.
On the other hand, the tanners have started purchasing salted rawhides on limited scale on the day as per previous announcement amid the merchants' threat, insiders said.
BHSMA President Delwar Hossain told the FE, "Tanners owe us more than Tk 3.0 billion in between 2012 to 2019, and that is why we decided not to sell on credit any rawhide to them."
The rawhide sales will remain suspended until the meeting with the commerce ministry scheduled to be held at 3:00 pm today (Sunday), he said. "We will accept the outcomes of the meeting."
Besides, the traders are still waiting for appropriate directive from the government about rawhide export, he said.
The BHSMA president said, "We are not yet prepared to export rawhides as we need proper licensing first to do so."
Commenting on the merchants' decision, Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) General Secretary Shakawat Ullah said, "What can we do if they don't want to sell rawhides on credit to us?"
The tanners who are purchasing on cash may not face any problem, and several companies have already started scrutinising the market.
"We are waiting for today's meeting at the commerce ministry to reach a consensus about the rawhide market," he added.
As per the previous announcement, local tanneries started visiting different warehouses across the country, and they started purchasing rawhides on a limited scale.
Shakawat said, "Tanners will buy properly preserved animal skins from retail hide and skin merchants and it will continue for the next two months."
Talking about tanners' price range, he said, "Those who preserved their skins correctly and in time will definitely get better prices than others."
Local tanners will buy salted rawhides at the price fixed by the government, he added.
Talking to the FE, General Secretary of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association Tipu Sultan said wholesale traders in the city's Posta area bought small-sized rawhides at Tk 350 to Tk 450, medium-sized ones at Tk 500 to Tk 600 and big ones at Tk 600 to Tk 800.
"In general, we bought rawhides at Tk 500 on average and spent another Tk 250 for preservation and labour cost," he said.
However, the government fixed price of cowhides (salted/non-salted) at Tk 45-50 per sq ft (square feet) in Dhaka and Tk 35-40 per sq ft outside the capital but the merchants have bought the skins from small traders at Tk 20 to Tk 25.
General people who sacrificed animals during the Eid-ul-Azha got even lower prices, notably Tk 150 to Tk 300 per skin.
The government urged the tanners on Saturday to work in a more coordinated manner for processing rawhides maintaining international standard.
The directive of the government came at a meeting between the industries ministry, tanners and the stakeholders at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate in Dhaka.
Industries secretary Md Abdul Halim called upon the tanners to fix pick-season mutually so that they could process the rawhides ensuring internationally-accepted quality.
The industries secretary said 1,362 points are needed to obtain certifications of the Leather Working Group (LWG). Waste management and effluent treatment jointly constitute 200 points, he said.
He called upon the tanners to pay more attention to achieving that standard and getting certificates issued by the Leather Working Group.
He said that central effluent treatment plants (CETPs) at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate are now functioning fully.
The secretary said that some seasonal traders ruined rawhide business this year.
The secretary claimed that rawhides were preserved properly at other places of the country.
He also said that directives were given to the district administration to look into the matter.
The tanners collect during the Eid-ul-Ahza half the annual generation of rawhides.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association Md Sakhawat Ullah expressed optimism that they would achieve the standard set by the LWG.
Chairman of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Md Mostaque Hassan and Senior Vice Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) Md Diljahan Bhuiyan were present, among others.
Meanwhile, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) Md Mofizul Islam told the FE on Saturday that his ministry would sit today (Sunday) with the tanners and rawhide traders to discuss the prices of rawhide of sacrificial animals.
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