Process rawhides with salt soon after slaughtering sacrificial animals: Merchants’ association
More than eight lakh sacrificial animals were slaughtered in the capital last year but this year the figure is between six and six and a half lakhs
The Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants' Association on Wednesday suggested that rawhides of sacrificial animals should be processed with salt soon after the slaughtering.
On information, the association will collect hides at a convenient time.
"Rawhides, unless processed with salt, rot quickly in this hot weather," said General Secretary of the association Tipu Sultan, adding that if salt was used to process hides, they could be preserved for up to three months before sale at a fair price.
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He estimated that after Eid-ul-Adha, rawhides coming to Posta in Old Dhaka, where the largest rawhide warehouses of the country are located, will be less compared to the previous year.
More than eight lakh sacrificial animals were slaughtered in the capital last year but this year the figure is between six and six and a half lakhs.
"Now we have limited cash in hand. Tannery owners have paid very little though they promised to pay all dues. We still have not received arrears of over Tk110 crore from 50 tanneries. However, the branded tanneries have paid all dues," Tipu Sultan said.
Merchants are purchasing hides at the government-fixed prices, he said. The price of a cowhide is Tk650 to Tk800 while the price of a large cow's hide is Tk900, Tipu added.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Commerce has fixed the price for salted cowhides at Tk40-45 per square feet in Dhaka city while Tk33-37 outside Dhaka. The price of goats' hides has been fixed at Tk12-18 per square feet.
