Tanners stop buying rawhides sine die

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FE Report
Tanners have decided to stop buying rawhides for an indefinite period in the wake of charging higher than the rate fixed by the authorities earlier.
The decision was taken Sunday after an emergency meeting of the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), held in the capital after days of price distortions.
"We've decided not to purchase any animal hides until the ongoing price issue is settled," BTA chairman Shaheen Ahmed told the FE after the meeting.
He said the prices charged by the traders were much higher than their affordable level.
"If we agree to pay their demanded price, then we have to raise the prices of exportable finished leather from our buyers, which is not possible given the present international market price," he said.
According to the association, the export prices of finished leather are varying between $ 1.05 and $ 2.10 per square foot.
Meanwhile, the traders are still upbeat about selling their rawhides at higher prices than the prices offered by the tanners.
The ray of hope came after several tannery owners outside the capital Sunday started purchasing animal hides at Tk 60 to Tk 70 per square foot.
"Tanners outside Dhaka have started procuring rawhides at higher rates from Sunday, which is a very positive sign," Aftab Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Hides and Skin Merchant Association, told the FE earlier.
He said they have also received green signal from several tannery owners in Dhaka regarding procurement of the unsold rawhides. "I hope the purchase of animal hides will resume in full swing by Tuesday," he said.
Mr Aftab said tanners like Akiz Group and TK Group have been purchasing hides, and added that tanners were scheduled to sit at 8pm Sunday to readjust the prices in line with the international market price.
Bangladesh Tanners Association, Bangladesh Hides and Skin Merchant Association, and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) last week fixed prices for the per square foot cowhide at Tk 55-60 for Dhaka and Tk 45-50 for those outside Dhaka.
Local tanners purchased more than 2.9 million pieces of rawhides and 4.5 million pieces of goatskin during the Eid-ul-Azha in 2009. During the Eid festival, tanners procure around 50 per cent raw hides of the total annual collection.
Around 170 tanners of the country exported semi-finished and finished leather worth $226 million in fiscal 2009-10, while shoe manufacturers shipped footwear worth $204.09 million.