Buyers shortages frustrate sellers

The Gazi Fazlul Haque Forkania Madrasah in Narayanganj’s Araihazar collected 56 strips of sacrificial animals’ rawhide on Eid-ul-Azha day and waited for customers till 6pm, but no one came.

To protect the animals’ skin from damage, the madrasah authorities were later bound to sell each strip at Tk 350 to a local regular trader.

“We were waiting from noon and expected better prices, but there was no customer,” Abdus Samad, president of the madrasah’s managing committee, told The Business Post. 

The government increased sacrificial animals’ hide prices this year, but the move did not impact the market as expected. As the initiative failed to attract seasonal traders, especially in rural areas, owners donated hide to madrasahs and charities.

Like the last three years, thousands of strips of goatskin and byproducts of cowhide were buried or dumped on the street this time due to a lack of buyers.

However, wholesale cowhide prices increased slightly this year in the capital. A 25-square-foot strip was sold at Tk 750 on average, up from Tk 700 last year.

But prices did not increase outside Dhaka, and many in rural areas faced a shortage of seasonal traders like the Gazi Fazlul Haque Forkania Madrasah, causing prices to decline.

After the tannery industry’s relocation from Hazaribagh to Savar, the rawhide market saw a massive downfall. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, thousands of strips of rawhide remained unsold due to a lack of demand, and the owners were bound to bury or dump them.

The government allowed the export of wet blue after around 28 years in 2021 to create rawhide demand and also raise prices. 

Due to excellent export growth, the commerce ministry increased salted rawhide prices again this year by Tk 7 to Tk 47-52 per square foot in Dhaka and to Tk 40-44 outside the capital. But the government did not set unsalted rawhide prices, which created barriers to ensuring fair prices of this valuable item.

Visiting the rawhide markets in Dhaka’s Posta and Hemayetpur, The Business Post found wholesalers were paying Tk 30-32 for per square foot unsalted rawhide depending on size and quality.

Jahidul Islam, who came from Kamrangirchar to sell hide, told The Business Post wholesalers were purchasing in lots and not in strips. “They are offering Tk 800 for each strip on average, which was Tk 700-750 last year.” Prices should be above Tk 1,000 considering the government’s directive, he added.

Merchants claimed the government had fixed salted rawhide prices but almost 100 per cent of the hide that came was unsalted.

“We have to spend Tk 300, including salt prices and labour costs, to preserve a 25 square foot strip of rawhide. Thus per square foot price will reach above Tk 45. There are some additional costs, such as bank interest and investment,” Murad Hossain, proprietor of Islam Traders in Hemayetpur, told The Business Post.

Goatskin unsold

Goatskin remained unsold like the last three years due to a lack of buyers. There were several hundred goatskin strips scattered on roadsides in Posta and Hemayetpur.

They were later collected by city corporation vehicles and private individuals and then transported to dumping grounds.

Mofiz Mia, a seasonal trader, said he had dumped goatskin on the street instead of selling it as buyers offered only Tk 5 for a strip. Merchants claimed they spend Tk 50-100 to preserve each strip of goatskin depending on size but tannery owners pay them even less.

“Why will we purchase something if we do not get any return on our investment?” trader Farhad Hossain said.

Trader crisis in villages

The people in rural areas faced rawhide trader shortages. That is why prices were low there.

Rawhide was sold at Tk 300-500 per strip in most rural areas. Prices even went down below Tk 200 in several areas. For this reason, rawhide was mostly donated to local madrasahs and charities.

But madrasah and charity authorities claimed they did not get fair prices either despite the government directive. The Business Post found that some of them had sold hide at minimum prices while many preserved it to get better prices later.

“I waited till afternoon for customers. A seasonal customer came at the end of the day and offered only Tk 100,” Shahidullah, a resident of Feni, told The Business Post. “I later donated it to a madrasah.”