Despite more than 9.37 million animals being sacrificed during this year's Eid-ul-Azha, the country's total rawhide collection is expected to decline to around 6.3-6.5 million pieces, industry insiders say.
Tannery owners attributed the likely drop to widespread spoilage of goat hides, inadequate use of salt for preservation, and delays in collection and marketing.
Meanwhile, around 796,000 pieces of rawhide had reached the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate by noon on June 8, according to officials.
Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Chairman Md Saiful Islam said 1,985 trucks carrying salted hides entered the estate during the first 12 days following Eid. Rawhides from outside Dhaka began arriving at the estate from May 29.
According to the latest BSCIC data, the consignments included about 695,000 cow and buffalo hides and 101,000 goat and sheep hides.
Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) Chairman Md Shaheen Ahmed said the association estimates that around 8.0 million animals were sacrificed this year, including about 5.0 million cattle and 3.0 million goats and other animals.
"So far, most of the hides arriving in Savar have come from Dhaka. It will take a few more days before substantial quantities from other regions reach the estate," he said.
The BTA expects to collect around 4.8 million cattle hides. However, more than half of the goat hides have been damaged or wasted due to poor handling and preservation.
According to Mr Ahmed, only 1.2-1.5 million hides may be recovered from the estimated 3.0 million goats and other small animals sacrificed this year.
"Taking into account around 4.8 million cattle hides and up to 1.5 million goat hides, total collection may stand at roughly 6.3 million pieces," he said.
Last year, around 7.1 million hides were collected. Both the number of sacrificial animals and rawhide collection appear to have declined this year, he added.
Although the government increased the official prices of rawhides this year, market rates remained well below expectations. Large cattle hides were reportedly sold for only Tk 500-600 in many areas, while prices were even lower in some districts.
Responding to concerns over depressed prices, BTA Senior Vice-Chairman Md Sakhawat Ullah said tannery owners primarily purchase salted hides. However, on Eid day, many tanners bought fresh hides directly in Dhaka to prevent a complete market collapse.
According to information gathered by the association, cattle hides were purchased at prices ranging from Tk 600 to Tk 1,000, with many transactions averaging around Tk 800 per hide.
Prof Dr Sabur Ahmed of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology said the rawhide market would continue to face recurring crises unless the government addressed the long-standing debt cycle between tanners and wholesalers and encouraged greater competition.
He said allowing rawhide exports and attracting foreign investment into the leather sector could help balance supply and demand, ensuring fairer prices for traders, charitable organisations and other stakeholders.
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