Tk 6.0b sought as bank loans to purchase rawhide

Tanners have sought a Tk 6.0 billion as loans from the public commercial banks (PCBs) to procure rawhide and skin in Eid-ul-Azha, the season that accounts for more than 40 per cent of the yearly leather procurement, reports BSS. "We have applied to the PCBs for Tk 6.0 loans to purchase rawhide. We sought the surplus money to offset the price fall in the world market and have better treatment of raw hide locally," Belal Hossain, president of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLGFEA), told the agency Thursday. Hossain said the sector people may not get the required money from the banks as the financial institutions would not respond to those tanners who could not repay loans taken from the banks earlier. "We're still optimistic that the banks will disburse loans as per our requirement considering the growth of the sector," he added. He hoped that this year's rawhide collection would be better compared to last year and the tanners have taken all-out measures to this end. About the prices of per sq feet rawhide leather, he said, "We the tanners will have meeting back to back to fix the raw hide price by November 2." President of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) Shahen Ahmed held the economic jitters in the international market responsible for lowering raw hide price. He favoured simplification of regulations of bank loans including reducing the period of CC loans to 45 days from 90 to let the export- oriented sector grow. Last year, the state-owned banks - Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali - provided Tk 3.0 billion in loans at low interest to the tanners for purchasing raw hide and skin during the Eid-ul- Azha. According to the BTA, tannery operators got Tk 0.6 billion in loans from Sinali Bank, Tk 0.5 billion from Janata Bank, Tk 0.76 billion from Agrani bank and Tk 0.25 billion from Rupali Bank. Sources in the Department of Livestock (DoL) said the country would have about 18 million sq ft of raw hides ahead of Eid as nearly 10 per cent animals are sacrificed on this occasion. The country has nearly 47.5 million domestic animals including 23 million cattle, 1.2 million buffalo, 20 million goats and three million sheep. The source said more than 42 per cent hides come during Eid- ul-Azha, above 10 per cent during Eid- ul-Fitr, 10 per cent during Shab-e-Barat, two per cent during Kali Puja and the rest round the year. Leather and leather goods had a remarkable export performance fetching $ 353.25 million in 2010-11 financial year - $ 297.83 million from raw leather and $ 55 million from leather goods, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data show.