Traders concerned are likely to procure rawhide and skin of sacrificial animals worth nearly Tk 30 billion during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest Muslim festival, industry insiders said.
On the other hand, the tanners have set a target of collecting over 10 million pieces of rawhide and skin during the holy festival across the country, they added.
"We have fixed a target to collect 7.0 million pieces of rawhide and 3.5 million pieces of animal skins during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. Last year, the figures were 6.5 million and 3.0 million respectively," president of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), Md Shahin Ahmed, said.
He mentioned that the number of animals sacrificed during the holy festival usually increased by about 10 per cent every year.
"This year, a large number of export orders have been cancelled from the international markets. The price of per square foot leather declined between US$ 0.20 and 0.30 in those markets. Besides, recent flooding in the country may have an adverse impact on the procurement of rawhide and skin during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. So, we are still in a dilemma over fixing the prices. The prices would depend on the market situation," he said.
"We've missed the export target so far this fiscal year (FY) due to lower demand of Bangladeshi finished and crust leather in the global market," he added.
Meanwhile, ministry of commerce (MoC) sources said a meeting will be held on September 28 next at the MoC to fix the procurement prices for rawhide and skin.
The per square foot price of rawhide was fixed at Tk 85-90 in Dhaka and at Tk 75-80 in other areas of the country last year, sources said.
Besides, the price of per square foot hide of bullock was fixed at Tk 50-55, buffalo Tk 40-45 and goat skin Tk 40-45 across the country, they said.
"Rawhide and skin worth nearly Tk 30 billion might be traded during this Eid-ul-Azha. Last year, the amount was Tk 25 billion," chairman of Bangladesh Hide & Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA), Ali Hossain, told the FE Thursday.
He expressed the fear that the price of hides and skin might be less than usual due to the declining trend of finished leather goods' prices in the international and domestic markets.
Sources said this year, the tanners have proposed disbursement of about Tk 4.0 billion as loans from the state-owned commercial banks -- Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Rupali -- for procuring rawhide of the sacrificial animals during the Eid-ul-Azha festival. About Tk 3.65 billion was received from the state-owned banks as loans during the last festival.
Nearly 50 per cent of the annual rawhide collection is made during Eid-ul-Azha, 10 per cent during Eid-ul-Fitr and two per cent during Shab-e-Barat, Department of Livestock sources said.
More or less 50 per cent of the country's annual demand for hides and skin is met from animals sacrificed during Eid-ul-Azha, they said.
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