Anisul Islam Noor :
The government has initiated to import cattle from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar to meet local demand for sacrificial animal. Besides, a proposal has been given to India for cattle trading through border haats; source said.
The country’s livestock supply during upcoming Eid-ul-Azha would remain low and its prices would be abnormally high if the government’s step fails, insiders said. There is a fear that many might not be able to sacrifice cow during the coming Eid-ul-Aza due to soaring prices and some may switch over to sacrifice goat.
The local raw hide and skin traders are also in great worry as the cattle sacrifice would be less this year by about 30 to 35 percent.
Additional Director (Research) of Centre for Policy Dialogue, Khandakar Golam Moazzem, said, theoretically the leather sector would not be affected much as there would be a balance in Indian supply of cows and finished leather export from Bangladesh.
Golam Moazzem, who is carrying out research on cow trade, said, Indian cattle, meets 50 per cent of the country’s demand while Bangladesh exports 50 per cent of its finished leather.
“So there must be a balance but the price of sacrificial animals would rise astronomically,” he said.
Khandakar Golam Moazzem said, the time has come for Bangladesh to think for alternatives markets whether the country will import beef or meet the demand by other means.
Dhaka’s beef traders say that the decline in imports of Indian cows has already impacted the market. In all the retail and wholesale markets, the price of cows has gone up by 30 to 40 per cent.
Secretary General of Bangladesh Meat Traders Association Rabiul Alam said, beef is being sold in some markets of the city at Tk 400 per kg.
He said, the demand for beef was met by the local supply in the last three months, but now the supply is dwindling.
“There is a grave concern that cattle prices would skyrocket during the coming Eid-ul-Azha,” he said.
In the last five months, there has been a 30 per cent drop in cattle coming from India to Bangladesh as the BJP- led government in India is on a move to ban cow slaughter across India and go for strict action on illegal cow trading along Indo-Bangladesh borders.
According to the Bangladesh Raw Hide Merchants Association and Tanners Association of Bangladesh, nearly 12 million cattle are slaughtered in the country annually of which seven million are cows.
Indian supply of cows to Bangladesh was 3.0-3.5 million pieces annually of which two million cows were brought on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, according to the two leather-related associations.
Bangladeshi leather industries largely depend on raw hide collected during Eid-ul-Azha, leather industry insiders said.
“I expect around two million cattle to be sacrificed during this Eid” Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA) President Ali Hossain told the reporter.
He urged the government for taking immediate action to import cows from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar if India does not officially export cattle-heads to Bangladesh.
However, experts differed with traders on the looming scarcity in leather sector during this Eid.
Cattle scarcity would remain in the country for a few years, but after that, the local production would be capable to meet the demand, said Khandakar Golam Moazzem.
“On the other hand, leather sector may import rawhides if they want,” he said adding the country has already been importing rawhides from Brazil and India.
