Workers stacking up salted rawhides at a warehouse in Posta area as trading in the capital's wholesale hide and skin markets began on Monday — Focus Bangla Trading in the city's wholesale hide and skin market began from Monday after a week's impasse over pay row and price debacle.
Traders said they are selling hide and skins at the government-fixed prices only to those who purchase making cash payment.
They will start selling in full swing after the August 22 meeting where the decision on the payment of dues will be made.
"The traders are only selling to those who purchase in cash, we don't want to get into the arrear trap again," said president of the Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants' Association Delwar Hossain.
He said trading has not started yet in full swing at Posta, the largest wholesale market of rawhides and skins.
The association's secretary Tipu Sultan said they are selling rawhide and skins of sacrificial animals at the government fixed rate or a little less.
They will start selling to everyone when the decision on the payment of arrears will be resolved.
Before Eid, the government announced the prices of different types of rawhides from animals sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Azha.
The fixed rates have not changed this year.
As per the decision, tanners would buy per square feet salted cowhide and buffalo rawhide at Tk 45-50 in Dhaka and at Tk 35-40 outside the capital.
The price of salted skin of castrated goats across the country has been fixed at Tk 18-20 per square feet while that of salted skin of un-castrated varieties has been fixed at Tk 13-15.
The selling started after a meeting on Sunday, organised by the ministry of commerce to resolve the chaos centering the price slump and hide merchants demand for the payment of arrears.
Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Prime Minister's adviser on private industry and investment Salman F Rahman, and senior commerce secretary Mofizul Islam, representatives of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), tanners, leather merchants, finished leather producing industries and merchants from different districts were present at the meeting.
According to the meeting's decision, there will be another meeting between the rawhide traders and tanners to resolve the issue of arrears.
Delwar Hossain on Saturday told reporters that tannery owners were responsible for the price disorder of rawhide as they did not make last year's payment of Tk 4.0 billion, which they owed to the wholesalers.
The forthcoming meeting will decide on how tanners will pay the dues off.
There has been a big crisis in rawhide trade since the Eid-ul-Azha as a large number of merchants stopped buying rawhide from seasonal traders, many of whom dumped rawhide by the roadside in more than a dozen districts, failing to sell those.
The merchants alleged that they were cash-strapped as the tanners didn't clear their dues before the Eid.
Following the Eid, around 3.5 million pieces of rawhide out of more than 10 million were thrown away by seasonal traders as they could not find any buyers, said rawhide merchants and tanners.
They put the price of the dumped rawhide at Tk 1.0 billion.
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