Seasonal traders and the grassroots level beneficiaries from the price of rawhide are the worst victims of the alarming fall of price of hide during the just-concluded Eid-ul-Adha.
The seasonal traders of Chattogram had to count a loss of around Tk 5 crore as they could not sell the rawhide they had bought, and so had to dump them as the hides started rotting the next day of Eid. Besides, being failed to sell hides, many traders preserved those with salt.
Nurul Islam, a CNG-run auto rickshaw driver of Banshkhali area had bought some 200 pieces of rawhides of sacrificial animals as he thought it would bring a good profit for him. But in spite of his day long trying he failed to sell those even offering Tk 100 lower than his buying price. As he did not have a plan and arrangement to preserve those with salt, his rawhides started rotting the next day. So he dumped all the 200 pieces of rawhides he had bought.
On the other hand, seasonal traders who could not sell their rawhides due to extremely low price, preserved those with salt. Traders of the city’s Postar Mor, Farida Para, Oxygen, Mohora, Pahartoli, CNB, Shikolbaha, Potiya and Anwara were seen have preserved their hides with salt and kept them under makeshift tents.
Chattogram hide traders (Arotdar or wholesalers) association has 112 members. There are 50 to 60 more traders outside the association. The wholesalers alleged that they could not by enough hides due to their scarcity of fund.
Hide wholesalers said that around 20 to 25 tanners of Dhaka buy hides from Chattogram regularly. Chattogram traders have around Tk 30 crore dues to them. They had promised to pay a portion of the dues before the Eid. But they did not pay any, and that is why rawhide traders of Chattagram were in lack of fund during the Eid. So they could not buy rawhide as per their target.
Seasonal traders do not have preparation for preserving rawhides. They also do not have skilled labourers who know the methods of preserving rawhides with salt. Only the Arotdars (big wholesalers) have such skilled labourers. Seasonal traders buy rawhides and sell them direct to the wholesalers. As the seasonal traders did not have preparation for preserving rawhide with salt they have become affected most.
Former president of Chattogram rawhide wholesaler association Muslim Uddin said, “Although the price of rawhide was very low, we could not buy them due to our scarcity of fund. Seasonal traders have bought rawhides without gaining proper knowledge of the market. Wholesalers of Chattogram were in acute fund crisis as the tanners of Dhaka did not pay our dues. I had a target of buying 4000 pieces of rawhide but could not due to fund crisis.”
He alleged that the wholesale hide traders of Chattogram has become hostage to some 20-25 tanners of Dhaka. They are bound to sale their hides to those Dhaka tanners as there is no alternate way to sell them, he added.
The wholesale hide traders of Chattogram welcomed the government move of exporting rawhide. There are only two tanneries in Chattogram. They buy hides in cash. But their buying capacity is limited, trades said.