Trading of sacrificial animal rawhides resumed at the grass-root level, as the tanners started paying arrears to the hide and skin merchants, after a tripartite meeting on Saturday.
At the same time, it was also decided in the meeting that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed among the industry stakeholders, so that such problem does not arise in the future.
The tripartite agreement will be signed among the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA), and the Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants' Association (BHSMA).
The meeting on Saturday lasted for four hours at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in the capital.
After the meeting, the FBCCI vice-president Rezaul Karim Reznu said trading of rawhides resumed after disbursement of the dues started.
"The FBCCI will supervise the whole situation for betterment of the potential leather sector," he added.
The BHSMA President Mohammad Delwar Hossain said the tanners started paying their dues for last financial year (FY), 2018-19, and also assured them of buying the rawhides, now stockpiled in their warehouses.
He noted that the unsold rawhides of the recent Eid-ul-Azha can be preserved maximum until October.
"We want to sell those first," he also said.
After that, payment of the dues for previous FYs - 1990-2010, 2010-15 and 2015-18 - will be settled, according to Mr Delwar.
Simultaneously, they will go for signing a MoU to avert such an unpleasant situation (like the present year) in future.
"We're fairly satisfied," he added.
The BTA Chairman Md Shaheen Ahmed said the tanners have agreed to clear dues of the rawhide merchants for the sake of the sector.
He said the government has assured them of providing assistance for addressing all the problems that they are facing at present.
Earlier, merchants, tanners and leather goods and footwear exporters met on August 22, where the tanners agreed to clear dues in three phases - for 1990-2010, 2010-15 and 2015-19.
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