Seasonal traders dump animal hides on streets in Ctg over low prices

A crisis surrounding sacrificial animal hides resurfaced in Chattogram this Eid, as seasonal traders alleged they were unable to secure fair prices for raw hides. 

While trading activities appeared normal until the afternoon of Eid day, chaos unfolded later at night in the city's Aturar Depot and Agrabad Choumuhuni areas.

Many seasonal traders, unable to sell their hides, abandoned them on the streets. Others sold the hides at nominal prices or left them at warehouses without payment. 

The developments have once again brought allegations of syndicates, financial losses, and frustration within Chattogram's hide market into focus.

This morning (29 May), hundreds of cow hides were seen piled along roadsides in the Aturar Depot area. 

The discarded hides emitted a foul odor, while flies swarmed around them. Dirt had already begun accumulating on some of the hides. Waste removal trucks from the City Corporation were later seen collecting and removing the discarded hides.

Pranab Kumar Sharma, deputy chief conservancy officer of the city corporation, told TBS, "Compared to last year, fewer hides have been found lying on the streets this time. So far, 300 to 400 hides have been collected and removed from the Bahaddarhat and Barapol areas. Our cleaning operations are ongoing."

Seasonal traders accused warehouse owners of collectively forcing down prices, preventing them from selling their hides at reasonable rates. According to traders, there were signs of healthy market demand until the afternoon of Eid day, but prices dropped sharply as the night progressed.

In many cases, traders who had purchased hides for Tk300 to Tk400 were offered only Tk50 to Tk150. Fearing heavy losses, many traders initially held onto their stock. However, when prices failed to recover later in the night, some traders dumped the hides on the streets, while others left them at warehouses without receiving any payment.

Traders further alleged that a syndicate among warehouse owners was controlling the market and depriving them of fair prices.

Razzak Mia, a seasonal trader from Hathazari, said he had collected 200 hides at an average cost of Tk300 each, but was unable to sell any of them.

Expressing his frustration, he said, "Everything here is controlled by a syndicate. The warehouse owners deliberately refused to buy the hides. I even requested them to at least cover the transport cost, but they refused. So I dumped all the hides."

According to the Chattogram Greater Raw Hide Warehouse Traders Cooperative Association, around 40 warehouse owners participated in purchasing hides this year. Stakeholders involved in the sector claimed that the collection target of approximately 400,000 hides across Chattogram district was achieved in both the city and surrounding areas.

Md Ayub, finance secretary of the association, told TBS, "We have collected more than 3,50,000 hides. Depending on quality, hides were purchased for Tk250 to a maximum of Tk500. This year many warehouse owners bought more hides than their targets. I myself collected 3,000 hides instead of my target of 2,000."

Responding to allegations regarding unsold hides being dumped on roadsides, he said, "Many hides were not of good quality. Some had marks, while others were cut or damaged. No one wanted to take those hides. However, we collected hides from 2pm until 8pm."