Stunned by seasonal market melee, tanners have not yet begun buying in a bigger way the rawhides of sacrificial animals even 18 days after the Eid-ul-Azha fiesta because of increased prices traders said.
Though traders have purchased the rawhides and skins on a full scale out of fear of smuggling of the neighbouring India, they could not sell out the buys as tanners are averse to buying the seasonal commodity.
On Friday, despite the fixing of rawhide prices, hides and skins of sacrificial animals were traded at higher prices at Posta, the largest rawhide market in the city.
Many of the traders had to collect rawhides at Tk 100-115 per square foot against the fixed rate of Tk 70-75.
"Tanners had purchased highest 30 per cent of rawhides until Friday whereas at this time-over a fortnight after the religious festival-- tanners purchase at least 60 per cent of rawhides of sacrificial animals," said M Abu Taher, chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLGFEA).
"We cannot purchase the raw materials at high rates to incur losses as the international market is showing a downtrend," he said.
Chairman of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) Ali Hussain admitted that tanners are not buying rawhides-skins as much as they are supposed to.
"But traders cannot cut the prices as they had to buy rawhides at higher prices," he said.
Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) is an organization of traders who collect rawhides and sell out to tanners.
"We bought rawhides and skins of the sacrificial animals as there is apprehension of smuggling to India," he said.
M Abu Taher said tanners are refusing to buy raw materials at higher prices on the excuse that the demand for Bangladeshi leather declined on the international market.
Ali Hussain argued that tanners would buy the rawhides today or tomorrow if they want to run their business.
Three trade bodies - Bangladesh Tanners' Association (BTA), Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLGFEA) -- fixed the purchase rates to avert losses.
They set the price of salted cowhides at Tk 70-75 per square foot in Dhaka and at Tk 60-65 outside the capital. The price of salted goat skin was fixed at Tk 30-35 per square foot.
"Now challenge is that the traders have to preserve the rawhides properly until tanners buy that," Ali Hussain added.
There are 250 warehouses at Posta that can accommodate 300,000 pieces of rawhides. The warehouses at Aminbazar in Savar have room for another 100,000 pieces.
But, during the last few years, some seasonal traders, blessed by political leaders, got involved in the business during Eid-ul-Azha and very often controlled the market.
More than 6.5 million cattle were sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Azha last year, according to data with the Department of Livestock.
Nearly 70 per cent of the country's annual demand for hides and skins is met from animals slaughtered during the Eid-ul-Azha, 10 per cent during Eid-ul-Fitr and two per cent during Shab-e-Barat.
At present, a total of 194 tanners buy rawhides during Eid. About 220 million sft of rawhides are collected in the country every year, half of which is stocked during Eid-ul-Azha.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
