The government and leather sector businesses on Monday set the prices for the salted rawhides of cows to be sacrificed in the forthcoming Eid-ul-Azha at Tk聽55-60 a square foot in the Dhaka city and Tk聽50-55 a square foot outside the city.
Eid-ul-Azha, one of the largest religious festivals of the Muslims, will be celebrated in the country in the 3rd week of June.
State minister for commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu at a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters Association, Bangladesh Tanners Association and Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association at the Bangladesh secretariat set the prices for rawhides of sacrificial animals.
Following the meeting, BFLLFEA president Mohiuddin Ahmed Mahin announced the prices of rawhides at a press briefing held at the commerce ministry conference room.
He announced the prices of the rawhides of castrated-goat at Tk聽20-25 a square foot and the prices of goat hides at Tk聽18-20 a square foot.
In 2023, the government and leather sector leaders set the prices for rawhides of cows at Tk 50鈥�55 a square foot in Dhaka and Tk 45鈥�48 outside Dhaka while the prices of the rawhides of castrated-goat were set at Tk 18-20 a square foot and the prices of goat hides at Tk聽12-14 a square foot.
Mohiuddin also announced that the lowest prices of a salted cow hide at Tk 1,200 in Dhaka and Tk聽1,000 outside Dhaka.
At the press briefing, Ahsanul said that setting rawhide prices was a commercial decision and the leather sector businesses had determined the minimum reasonable prices, as they would be procuring the items.
鈥楾he commerce ministry will oversee the implementation of the announced prices to ensure that those sacrificing animals and those entitled to receive money from the sales of hides are not deprived of,鈥� he said.
Ahsanul also said that rawhides were one of the important national assets of Bangladesh, but unfortunately the item was not getting right prices due to various reasons, including environmental compliance issue.
Bangladesh Tanners Association chairman Md Shaheen Ahmed sought support from the government to make the sector compliant.
He said that Bangladeshi businesses were forced to sell leather and leather products at very low prices as global buyers were reluctant to procure products from Bangladesh due to lack of environmental compliance.
Demanding the reinstating of cash incentive for the exports of crushed leather, Shaheen said that withdrawal of the support would hit the sector hard.
Commerce ministry secretary Md Selim Uddin said that the minimum prices for rawhides of sacrificial animals were set based on international market trends, the local business scenario and recommendations from stakeholders.
He said that a total of 1.07 crore of animals likely to be sacrificed this year.
Out of 1.07 crore, 55 lakhs are cows and rest are goat and other animals, he said.
