Eid-ul-Adha: Rawhide to get costlier as govt plans to export to China, price announcement tomorrow

The government has decided to export unprocessed rawhide of animals sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Adha this year to ensure proper prices for the goods, Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin said today (21 May).

The commerce ministry has taken a decision to send a letter to the Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh requesting China to import unprocessed rawhide from Bangladesh, the adviser said.

The adviser made the remarks at a press briefing after a meeting of a government committee formed earlier this month to ensure proper management of issues related to Eid-ul-Adha.

Appearing from the meeting, the commerce adviser said, "The prices of rawhide will be determined tomorrow (22 May). The prices this year will be more than the prices of last year, which is rational."

"We will determine a reasonable price for the rawhide and ensure the price through managing the market. We will directly export the unprocessed rawhide if needed to ensure their proper prices," the adviser said.

Adviser Bashir added, "The government will supply more than 30,000 tonnes of salt to the madrasahs and orphanages to preserve unprocessed rawhides for free until their proper prices are ensured."

"The government will create a documentary on how to preserve rawhides with salt for a long period and publicise it on a mass scale," the adviser added.

According to commerce ministry officials, a semi-government letter has been sent to the deputy commissioners directing them to preserve unprocessed rawhide locally for 15 days following Eid-ul-Adha at the district and upazila levels.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industries will provide 70,000 tonnes of salt to the madrasahs and orphanages for free to preserve rawhides collected during the Eid-ul-Adha festival.

The Ministry of Industries has sent a letter to the finance ministry seeking the allotment in this regard.

Last year, the prices of the rawhide of cow and buffalo per square foot were fixed at Tk55-60 in Dhaka and Tk50-55 outside Dhaka.

Besides, the prices of rawhide of goats were fixed at Tk20-25 and Tk18-20 per square feet all over the country last year.

According to commerce ministry data, the government earned $16.18 million from exporting rawhides and leather goods in fiscal year 1972-73, while the amount of foreign exchange earned through exporting leather and leather goods was $1.22 billion in fiscal year 2022-23.

In the last fiscal year, the export in the sector amounted to $1.04 billion, which is 11.60% less than the previous fiscal year.

During the July-April period in the ongoing fiscal year, the government exported leather and leather goods amounting to $932.53 million, which is 10.08% more than the same period last fiscal year.

Some other advisers and representatives from religious institutions, including Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman and Joint Secretary General of Hefazat-e-Islam Mamunul Haque, were present during the meeting.