A media report has said uncertainty persists over raw hide purchase or collection during the upcoming Eid-Ul-Azha like last two years’ as big traders may try to keep their agents away from the field to force small traders who collect from door to door to sell the rawhide at throwaway prices. This was what they did last year forcing the traditional market system to collapse along with forcing small traders to lose whatever money they had put in the trade.
We are appalled by such disclosure from the industry sources at a time when various stakeholders are closely involved in proper pricing of the rawhide. When it runs well they are well but when it goes wrong the leather sector as a whole faces a serious setback. We have always blamed big tanners for collapse of the trade such as last year primarily by not buying rawhide at a minimum price and failing to send their buying agents at field level. But tanners say they have their own problems.
They say they have huge unsold stock valued at around Tk 500 to 600 crore from last year and before. They failed to sell them and therefore are not ready to take new risks buying at normal price. Unless they can export unsold stocks they are reluctant to go for normal buying. On the other hand, beneficiaries of the trade such as madrashas, orphanage, mosques and such other charitable organisations stand to lose heavily from the collapse of the trade as a big part of their annual income comes from donations received from sale of raw hide.
What seems to be highly conflicting is that forcing raw hide to sell at throwaway prices is forcing their value to be dumped to almost zero level in many cases which is totally below their economic value and business potentials. So what we want to say is that the real value of raw hide must be restored at normal market price. Big industries are operating based on such rawhide and as a booming business sector for shoe making, jacket and luggage making and such other luxury products, have the power to give its proper price.
We would ask the government to make sure that the rawhide market is functioning properly without being manipulated. It can’t be allowed to be destroyed as a hostage to big capital under any pretext because its ramification will go much beyond.
