Prices of raw hide may soar this Eid
City Correspondent
The prices of raw hide may soar in post-Eid days, as cattle prices went up because of extortion and shortage of supply at border markets following a strike at four Indian land ports."City markets sell mostly local cattle and the prices are 20-30 percent up than last year," a trader said. But leather traders say they cannot afford high prices, as the prices of finished products dropped on the international market. "The Iraq war and Sars in Hong Kong and China pushed the prices of finished leather goods down," said Rezaul Karim, chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association. They fear worse as the Bangladesh Bank decided not to provide fresh credit for tanneries that did not pay back previous loans. "This year, tanners have to limit hide purchase if they are not supported by credit," said Delwar Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association. Tanners and merchants wait for the Eid-ul-Azha for purchase of quality hide that is mixed with low-quality hide to produce graded leather. "About 40 percent of hide that comes from slaughtered cattle and goats during the Eid-ul-Azha every year is of good quality and mixed with other 60 percent purchased throughout the year," Delwar said. "The raw hide found throughout the year is not of high quality, as it is skinned off aged, weak and even dead cows," he said. The prices of hide increase during the Eid because of keen competition among tanners for purchase and middlemen's meddling in sales to make money. It has become a trend that hoodlums control the market and force people to sell them raw hide comparatively cheap, which they resell at higher prices to traders -- sometimes with an increase of Tk 30 from Tk 70 to Tk 100 per square feet. "The hoodlums also damage the good quality hide, as they know nothing about preservation," Karim said. Traders alleged the smuggling of cattle hide into India. A government official said about Tk 500 crore worth of hide is smuggled out in post-Eid months every year. Tanners fear cross-border smuggling will increase this year, as many factories will not be able to get credit for hide purchase. Bangladesh earns Tk 1,700 crore from the export of finished leather goods a year, but tannery owners fear a slump in export earnings ahead.
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