Rawhide prices for Eid-ul-Azha raised by Tk 5 per sq ft in Dhaka

Outside Dhaka, the price of rawhide rose by Tk 3 from the Eid last year

The government has approved the price of rawhide from sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, raising the price of cowhide in Dhaka by Tk 5 per sq ft and outside Dhaka by Tk 3 per sq ft compared to last year.

Tannery traders will now buy salted cowhide in Dhaka for Tk 55-60 per sq ft, up from Tk 50-55 last year.

The price of salted cowhide outside Dhaka will be Tk 50-Tk 55 per sq ft, compared to Tk 47-Tk 55 last year.

Accordingly, if the skin of a Tk 100,000 cow in Dhaka is 20 sq ft, then the price for that amount of rawhide will be Tk 1,200 in Dhaka and Tk 1,000 outside Dhaka.

Apart from this, salted goat rawhide will be sold for Tk 20-Tk 25 per sq ft, up from Tk 18 to Tk 20 last year. Goat rawhide will be Tk 18-Tk 20 per sq ft, up from Tk 12-Tk 14 last year.

On Sunday, a meeting was held on leather pricing and fair prices at the Ministry of Commerce.

At the end of the meeting, State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu advised the traders to announce the price at their discretion instead of the government setting the price.

Later Mohiuddin Ahmed Mahin, chairman of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters’ Association Mahin Ahmed Mahi announced the prices.

Commerce Secretary Md Selim Uddin said that a minimum reasonable price was discussed and the price in the market will not be lower than this.

According to the secretary, 55 percent of the skins collected throughout the year are available during Eid-ul-Azha, making it very important for leather collection.

Stating that the country has sufficient animal stock before Eid, he said the demand this time is for about Tk 10.7 million animals and there is a supply of 12.9 million animals. Of them, 5.5 million are cows and buffaloes, while the rest are sheep, goats, camels, and fat-tailed sheep.

Roughly half of the animals slaughtered throughout the year in Bangladesh are killed during Eid-ul-Azha. Seasonal traders buy raw hides from those who sacrifice animals and sell them to wholesalers.

The wholesalers sell the leather to a tannery after initially preserving them with salt. The Ministry of Commerce determines the price at which the tannery will buy leather every year.