Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday said the government has taken various steps to overcome the ongoing crisis, created over sales and prices of rawhide of sacrificial animals in this Eid-ul-Azha.
"The tanners have assured us of overcoming the crisis relating to rawhide prices," he told the media at his secretariat office on the first working day after the Eid holiday.
The minister's observation came against the backdrop of a sluggish trend of rawhide prices.
"We've talked to the leaders of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), and they've informed us that they will buy rawhide despite the crisis."
The minister said stockpiles of rawhide collected last year, unavailability of bank loan for tanners, non-functioning of many tanneries at Savar Tannery Industrial Estate (TIE) are the main reasons behind the price fall.
Besides, non-operation of Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at Savar TIE, and problem over the tanners' ownership documents there are also among the reasons.
He also said the government has no plan to export rawhide to protect the local leather industry.
The tanners said their financial crisis, low trend of international market price, and lack of foreign buyers have cast a negative impact on rawhide prices.
The seasonal and small traders said they are hit hard due to the sharp price fall of rawhide this year.
They said they are facing acute financial crisis, as they are being offered low prices by the wholesalers due to the price fall this year.
"The tanners' fund crunch will also be resolved, as banks are reopened after the Eid vacation. So, the crisis over rawhide will not be there," Mr Tofail said.
He noted that the government will do everything necessary for development of the leather sector.
"The government is always careful about protecting a potential sector like leather," he added.
Meanwhile, BTA has decided to procure salted rawhide from next Saturday (Sept 1).
An influential leader of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchant Association told the FE on Sunday that an insignificant quantity of rawhide was purchased on the day.
The prices of rawhide plummeted significantly during this Eid-ul-Azha, which, according to traders, happened due to their gradual price fall in the international market.
A single cowhide was sold between Tk 500 and Tk 800, depending on its size, this year against the prices ranging from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 last year, according to the wholesalers.
Seasonal traders said they have to incur substantial financial loss this year, as they are offered lower prices by the wholesalers.
They further said they had to purchase a single cowhide at prices ranging between Tk 700 and Tk 800, and sell it to the wholesalers at prices between Tk 500 and Tk 700.
But the wholesalers and the tanners said rawhide prices dropped drastically due to the escalating US-China trade war.
Besides, shifting of tanneries from Hazaribag of the capital to Savar made many local and foreign buyers reluctant to purchase rawhide.
Meanwhile, according to a BSS report, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been put on the highest alert in all frontier areas to stop smuggling of rawhide out of the country.
"We have taken the highest security arrangement along the border areas to prevent rawhide smuggling out of the country as per the government directives," a BGB official said on Sunday.
BGB Director General Major General Md Shafeenul Islam will visit Sahebnagar BOP (border outpost) in Rajshahi to oversee the overall security arrangement to check rawhide smuggling, he informed.
Check-posts have been set up at all strategic points across the country, including the entry and exit points, ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha festival, to stop rawhide smuggling, he added.
The BGB top official hoped that the BGB men will be able to check rawhide smuggling effectively this year as they did in the previous years.
Besides BGB, police personnel have also been put on the highest alert, particularly in the bordering districts, to check rawhide smuggling.
In this regard, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken measures to direct all vehicles carrying rawhide towards Savar TIE, before leaving the capital.
Besides, DMP in coordination with Dhaka district police have set up check-posts at all strategic points in the capital for seizing the hide-laden trucks from one district to another.
BTA President Shaheen Ahmed, while speaking at a press conference on Saturday, demanded a month-long vigilance by BGB across the border, so that no single vehicle carrying rawhide can cross the border.
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