Despite a government-mandated increase in the prices of rawhide for Eid-ul-Azha, sellers in Dhaka expressed disappointment as they found themselves compelled to sell hides below the official rates once again. Seasonal rawhide traders in various areas of Dhaka, including Shewrapara, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, and Science Lab, reported that despite the price hike by the government, tannery owners were offering lower prices, leading them to sell hides at reduced rates.
Contrary to the claims of tannery owners that prices had either remained stable or increased by Tk 50 to Tk 60 per piece compared to the previous year, many sellers stated they were receiving Tk 150 to Tk 200 less per hide this year. Furthermore, there was a lack of interest among traders in buying goat hides compared to previous years.
In the current scenario, most raw cowhides were being sold at prices ranging from Tk 500 to Tk 650, a decrease from last year’s rates of Tk 700 to Tk 800 for similar hides. The government had set the prices for rawhide generated during Eid-ul-Azha this year, raising the price of salted cowhide in Dhaka by Tk 2 per square foot from the previous year. The current rates for salted cowhide in Dhaka were fixed at Tk 62 to Tk 67 per square foot, compared to Tk 60 to Tk 65 last year.
Meanwhile, the price of salted goat skin was set at Tk 25 to Tk 30 per square foot, with she-goat skin priced at Tk 22 to Tk 25 per square foot. This pricing structure meant that a small salted hide could fetch between Tk 990 and Tk 1,200, a medium-sized salted cowhide was expected to sell for Tk 1,300 to Tk 1,850, and a large salted cowhide could range from Tk 1,900 to Tk 2,600.
Typically, a large cowhide measures 31 to 40 square feet, a medium-sized cowhide measures 21 to 30 square feet, and a small cowhide measures 16 to 20 square feet. In the Sher Shah Suri Road area of Mohammadpur, seasonal trader Mohammad Shwapon mentioned purchasing small raw hides at Tk 450 each, medium-sized hides at Tk 500 to Tk 550, and large hides at Tk 600 to Tk 650. By early afternoon, he had acquired 30 raw hides and aimed to reach a total of 300 pieces.
Another seasonal trader, Abid Hossain Hanif, from the Science Lab area, stated purchasing small raw hides at Tk 400 to Tk 450, medium hides at Tk 500, and large hides at Tk 550 to Tk 600. He attributed the somewhat lower prices this year to traders buying hides at the rates dictated by tannery owners. Mohammad Yaseen, a seasonal trader from Dhanmondi, highlighted the lack of market value for goat skins and mentioned that cowhide sellers were receiving minimal payments, sometimes as low as Tk 5 to Tk 10 per piece, or even no payment at all in some instances.
Senior Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Tanners Association, Md Shakawat Ullah, refuted claims of a decrease in rawhide prices this year, stating that prices were actually Tk 20 to Tk 50 higher than the previous year. He personally confirmed purchasing hides within the range of Tk 650 to Tk 950. To stabilize the rawhide market in Dhaka, tanneries were directly procuring raw hides. Ullah mentioned that despite a slow start to hide trading in the afternoon, prices might escalate by the evening.
Tannery owners aimed to collect 75 lakh to 80 lakh sacrificial animal hides this year, with plans to directly purchase around 80 percent of the hides in Dhaka, a significant increase from last year’s procurement of approximately 750,000 to 800,000 hides in the capital.