In preparation for this year's Eid-ul-Adha, the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) has set a target of acquiring 85 lakh to 90 lakh pieces of good quality raw hide, excluding 10 percent of the total sacrificial animals. However, the collection revealed a significant paucity of goat skins.
Speaking to the media, Chairman of the BTA, Shaheen Ahmed, expressed that they had made all necessary arrangements to preserve the expected 85 lakh to 90 lakh skins. Despite their efforts, the availability of goat skins remained notably low.
Posta dealers informed that the capital's leather market has become fragmented, dispersed across various areas. Consequently, the quantity of skins arriving at the Posta in Lalbagh has been diminishing over the past few years. Presently, traders are also procuring leather from Savar, Beribadh, and Amin Bazar.
Posta tanners and workers are engaged in purchasing and processing leather that are arriving from different areas of the capital. Traders have noted that leather prices are higher this year compared to the previous year, primarily due to increased costs of salt.
Moreover, the diminishing supply of leather in Posta has resulted in many buyers being unable to fulfill their demands. Several individuals reported falling short of their target purchases, with some managing to acquire only a fraction of the desired amount.
In light of the scarcity, several tannery owners have resorted to buying leather from local madrasahs and orphanages. They collect raw hides without salt through representatives or purchase it directly from the sources, aligning the price accordingly.
BTA Chairman, Shaheen Ahmed, shared his experience, stating that he purchased a significant portion of leather from Madrasahs, with prices ranging from Tk 700 to Tk 900 per skin. The cost of salt and labour for each skin amounts to Tk 300 extra apart from buying.
Traditionally, leather is not bought on the day of Eid, but a few raw hides are being collected from various mosques and madrasahs. Following the Eid day, the tanners will commence collecting salted skins.
This year's Qurbani Eid witnessed the sacrifice of a total of 1 crore 41 thousand 812 sacrificial animals.
