Prices of rawhides of sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha have been kept unchanged at last year's level amid strong demand for lessening the rates by the tanners and traders concerned.
The price of cowhide (salted/non-salted) has been re-fixed at Tk 45-50 per sq ft (square feet) in Dhaka and Tk 35-40 per sq ft outside the capital during this Eid-ul-Azha.
Goatskin (salted/salt-free) will sell at Tk 18-20 per sq ft across the country while she-goat's skin at Tk 13-15 per sq ft.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi announced the rates at a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and tanners, leather and footwear makers held at the ministry on Tuesday.
Senior Secretary of the MoC Md Mofizul Islam moderated the meeting. Senior officials of the ministries concerned and representatives from Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather-goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLFEA) also attended, among others.
The participants of the meeting mentioned a significant amount of salt is stocked in the country to meet the requirements for the Eid-ul-Azha.
Commerce minister said it should not be justified to reduce the prices of rawhide this year than that of the last year since there is a humanitarian side.
He added there would be bad impact if the prices of rawhides are reduced this year.
The procurement prices of per square feet rawhide of sacrificial animals (salted or non-slated) would be the same as they were last year since the country's leather industry is passing tough time, the senior secretary of commerce ministry said.
The meeting discussed that the authorities concerned would take steps so that rawhides of sacrificial animals can be transported easily.
Bangladesh Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) would increase monitoring so that hides cannot be smuggled out of the country, the meeting mentioned.
Chairman of BFLLFEA Mohiuddin Ahmed Mahin said while people consider leather items essential, the demand for artificial leather has increased in the country.
Mohiuddin added, "We are losing market due to lack of compliance issues." He demanded increasing bank support for the leather sector.
Chairman of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) Md Shaheen Ahamed said the country's leather industry has been facing a blow for the last five years due to some factors including falling prices of leather items.
This year the number of animals to be sacrificed across the country is estimated to be over 11.78 million.
Of these, 4.58 million are cows and buffaloes while 7.2 million are goats and sheep.
Last year, over 11.55 million animals were sacrificed, according to data from the commerce ministry.
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