Cry over hides again: Cow 100-600 Taka, goat's nobody takes

Just as ordinary sacrificers are suffering due to the low price of hides, seasonal traders who collected hides from villages hoping for profit are now at risk of heavy losses and losing their capital. A major stagnation has occurred in the leather sector this year due to the capital crisis of wholesalers, unpaid dues from tannery owners, the increased price of salt, and the bitter experience of last year.

Once bustling with buyers and sellers from dawn till dusk during Eid-ul-Adha, the leather market in Bogura presented a completely different picture this year. The presence or activity of big traders in the market was negligible.

Speaking with local wholesalers and market insiders, it was learned that this stagnation in the market is mainly due to three reasons:

Unpaid dues from tanneries: A huge amount of previous dues from tannery owners in Dhaka remains unpaid to local wholesalers. Wholesaler Shamim Hossain said, 'Without getting the dues from the tanneries in Dhaka, it is impossible for us to buy hides on a large scale or invest in the market again.'

Increase in salt price and preservation cost: The cost of processing and preserving hides has increased significantly due to the rise in salt prices. As a result, wholesalers are unwilling to take additional risks.

Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD): The quality of many hides has been damaged due to the lumpy skin disease spreading among livestock. Consequently, the government-fixed price is only available for good quality hides, while others are being sold at nominal prices.

Seasonal traders in Bogura complain that they are forced to collect cow hides from various villages at Tk 500-800 and sell them in the city for only Tk 400-600.

Abdul Karim, a seasonal trader in the city, lamented that after buying hides at high prices from villages, they now have to sell them at a loss in the city. After covering vehicle and labor costs, nothing remains in hand.

The situation of goat hides is even worse. Goat hides bought for Tk 30-60 are being sold in the wholesale markets for only Tk 10-20.

Meanwhile, the situation in Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla is more dire. From morning till evening, no wholesale buyers or wholesalers were seen to buy hides in the market. As a result, sacrificial animal hides were seen lying around in various areas of the upazila.

Although some buyers appeared in the Chauddagram market in the evening, they were quoting only Tk 100 per piece of cowhide. However, local seasonal traders had bought each hide from villages for Tk 200-250 during the afternoon. Due to the absence of wholesalers, they are now facing severe losses.

A seasonal trader named Saddam Hossain said, 'In the morning, I went to different villages and bought each piece of hide for Tk 200-250. Now I come to the market and see there are no wholesalers to buy the hides. We don't understand what to do with these hides now.'

Another trader, Ahsan Ullah, informed that he bought 24 pieces of hides hoping for some profit, but due to the lack of buyers in the market, his entire investment is now on the verge of being wasted.

Jafar Ahmed came from the remote Chiora area of Chauddagram to sell hides, paying Tk 60 as transport fare. He had sacrificed a bull alone, costing Tk 1,30,000.

Expressing anger, Jafar Ahmed said, 'I couldn't find any buyer for the hide in my area since morning. I paid Tk 60 fare and came to Chauddagram market to sell it. After coming here, not finding any wholesaler, I was forced to sell the hide to a seasonal trader for only Tk 100.' Like him, many ordinary sacrificers, unable to sell their hides, left them by the roadside or in the market and returned home.

A severe downturn was also observed in the leather market in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district in the western region. The impact of last year's losses and the bitter experience of having to bury hides in the ground due to inability to sell them is evident in the market this year as well.

Although hides are being sold somehow in Gangni this year, the prices are extremely low. At the field level, cow hides are being sold for Tk 600-700 depending on size. Meanwhile, the price of goat hides has dropped to only Tk 20-30. Unable to sell, many are forced to donate hides to various orphanages and madrasas.

Local sacrificer Md. Shafiqul Islam expressed anger, saying, 'Last year the price was so low that many couldn't sell their hides and buried them in the ground. The price is not good this year either. I am stuck with the goat hide; if it doesn't sell, there will be no option but to bury it in the ground again this year.'

Another sacrificer, Mohammad Abdus Sattar, said a trader offered only Tk 20 for the goat hide and left. The government should increase the price of this important sector. Last year, they didn't even give Tk 10 for a goat hide. Some angrily said that getting Tk 20 for a goat hide is worse than burying it in the ground and donating money to the madrasa from their own pocket.

Local leather trader Moha. Yasin Ali informed that they always do business under the risk of severe losses. He said, 'The price of salt is very high. We buy goat hides for Tk 20-30 and cow hides for Tk 600-700 and sell them to other traders. If we don't get a good price in the big market, we will be ruined.'

Meanwhile, Md. Tawhidul Islam, a member of the Tetulia Union Parishad, informed that no leather traders were seen in many areas until the evening after Eid. As a result, ordinary people were forced to wait for a long time with their hides.

Regarding this annual crisis in the raw hide sector, industry insiders say the main reasons for this collapse are the over-centralization of power in the tanneries of Dhaka, the syndicate of tannery owners at the grassroots level, and the lack of adequate modern cold storage or government salting facilities for preserving hides at the district level. If the dues of tanneries are not cleared quickly and the salt market is not controlled, this major export sector of the country will soon collapse.