It may be mentioned here that well before Eid-ul-Azha, the Bangladesh Government had fixed prices of rawhides of sacrificial animals. However, as per rawhide traders and people in know of things, rawhides were traded at lower prices this time around too!
Media reports maintained this citing some raw hide traders, who underlined that after the Government fixed the prices of rawhides and understanding from various media reports that leather price was good this year, they procured hides at higher prices but had to sell them at prices lower than the buying price.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media, many seasonal traders at capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong, reportedly, conceded that failing to get the desired prices, they had to dump rawhides at roadsides even as the Secretary General of Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association Tipu Sultan, on his part, reportedly, refuted allegation that they refused to buy rawhide at the prices expected by the seasonal traders.
Reports further maintained that this time around, apart from increasing the prices of rawhide by Taka 5 per square foot, the Government had allowed export of 10 million pieces of wet blue leather over the next year, which is expected to create additional incentives for leather procurement.