NATORE, Aug 25: Rawhide traders in the district are worried as the tannery owners or their representatives are yet to visit the area for purchase.
Chalkbaidanath Bazar adjacent to the Natore Railgate is known as the biggest rawhide hub in the northern region. However, the rawhide has already started coming from different districts here by trucks.
Some skins are sold separately according to the government-fixed price since the tannery owners or their representatives have not started to purchase the item.
Lutfar Rahman Laltu, vice-president of the district leather traders' group, said traders generally start stockpiling rawhide in Natore from the second week of Eid. In the next one week, most of the hide will come here from districts in the north and south.
"Representatives of the Bangladesh Hide Skin Association and the Tannery Owners' Association of Bangladesh met with the officials at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Dhaka on August 22,' said some storehouse owners.
"We are not getting opportunity to sell the hide to the tannery owners yet as they did not come," they added.
During a recent visit to the Chalkbaidanath Bazar area, this correspondent came to know that cow skin is sold at Tk 45 to Tk 50 per square foot and goat skin at Tk 20 to Tk 20.
Trader Manjurul Alam Hiru said once wet blue leather was exported to different countries from Bangladesh. "It was the golden age for the leather traders", he added.
Trader Rakib Uddin Kamal said some of the skins have been damaged in the mean time. It is perishable and needs special care.
Some local traders said Natore is the centre of rawhide sales in the north. There are more than a hundred storehouses in the Chalkbaidanath area.
A businessman named Rafiqul Islam said he sold some cow skins to the local traders at Tk 700 to Tk 800 per piece though his purchase rate was Tk 800 to Tk 900.
Deputy Commissioner Shah Mohammed Riaz said, "We have urged the leather traders to purchase rawhide at the rate fixed by the government."
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