Dhaka, Aug 19 – The market of rawhide and skin will become more vulnerable if dues are not paid by the tanners within shortage possible period though the selling of salted rawhides started on Monday.There were no syndications in purchasing rawhides during Eid-ul-Adha though the tanners blamed the rawhide and skin merchants for syndication.
The problem created in rawhide and skin market when the tanners don’t pay the dues to merchants.
Tanners owe to rawhide and skin merchants about Tk. 400 crore since 1990.
President of the Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) Mohammad Delwar Hossain came up with this while talking to reporters at his Posta office in Old Dhaka on Monday.
Merchants have agreed to resume the sales of rawhides of sacrificed animals to tanners from Sunday backing off from its Saturday’s announcement, paving the way for resolving the crisis in the leather industry.
“The merchants have started selling of salted rawhides amid huge dues with tanners. Selling of salted rawhides will be completed within a week in Dhaka. The tanners will begin buying of salted rawhides from next week in the outside of Dhaka,” Mohammad Delwar Hossain said.
He said that the merchants repeatedly told the tanners that they have no money to purchase rawhides during Eid-ul-Adha. But many merchants had bought rawhides by borrowing money just to keep operational the business, he added.
“The situation may more dangerous if rawhides entered in the city from the adjacent districts of Dhaka on Eid day. We wouldn’t procure them due to want of money,” Hossain said in reply to a query.
He, however, said that the rawhides market likely become more vulnerable if tanners are not paid dues to rawhide and skin traders within short time.
“We’ve decided unanimously to sell rawhides from today. We‘ve also angered to retreat from our earlier decision to keep the rawhide sales suspended,” he said.
Replying to a question, Delwar said the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has been given the responsibility to realise the dues of merchants from tanners.
He said Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and the Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Prime Minister Salman F Rahman will work for resolving the problem in this regard.
Delwar also said the Skin Merchants in Dhaka and outside have around Tk 400 crore dues to the tanners and he hoped that the tanners will pay their arrears shortly to save this sector.
“The tanners are purchasing salted rawhides as per government fixed prices. The tanners won’t purchase hides in the last two days due to misunderstanding between merchants and tanners,” Md Shakawat Ullah, general secretary of the Bangladesh Tanners’ Association (BTA) told The Independent yesterday.
The problems regarding dues will be solved after meeting with FBCCI leaders on August 22, he added.
When asked how the longstanding dues will be solved, the BTA general secretary replied, “the issue will be solved through discussion with the concerned stakeholders. The FBCCI will resolve it on how to and which system can solve the dues.”
Before Eid, the commerce ministry had fixed the prices of salt-applied raw hide of cows and buffaloes at Tk. 45-50 per square foot in the capital and Tk. 35-40 elsewhere.
The price of rawhide of castrated goats was fixed at Tk. 18-20 per square foot. For goats not castrated, the price was set at Tk. 13-15. – Staff Reporter
