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| Raw hides are piled up at a tannery in Chittagong city after Eid al-Adha, where seasonal traders stand in despair. |
The Eid of Sacrifice is over, and seasonal leather traders in Chittagong are in trouble. Even though they buy leather in the hope of profit, they are not getting a fair price from the traders. Many are forced to sell at a loss, which has further increased their frustration. This situation is seen more or less every year, but this time it seems to be more intense.
It is known that seasonal traders collect leather from the sacrificers in the neighborhoods. But they often suffer due to lack of knowledge of leather processing and understanding of the right market. Although the government fixes the price of salted leather, seasonal traders often buy it at a higher price when buying raw leather, which causes them losses.
Traders in Chittagong say that salted leather is purchased at the price fixed by the government. When seasonal traders add their salt cost, labor wages, and transportation costs to the price at which they are buying leather, they lose. The Greater Chittagong Raw Leather Traders' Association has repeatedly warned seasonal sellers.
This time, a target of collecting about 4 to 4.5 lakh skins has been set in Chittagong. Of this, about 3 lakh are cow skins and about 1 to 1.5 lakh are goat and sheep skins. The only functioning tannery in Chittagong, 'Rif Leather Limited', is ready to take only 1 lakh skins. For the rest of the skins, it has to rely on tanneries in Dhaka. As a result, the transportation cost and additional storage costs to send the skins to Dhaka increase.
Many seasonal traders are complaining that the traders are buying the skins at low prices in a group. Since salt is needed to preserve the skins and for fear of rotting, they have to sell them quickly, which creates opportunities for the traders. All in all, many who came hoping for profit are returning disappointed.
Date: June 7, 2025
Author: Kazi Fahsin
Publisher: Novokanth (Novonicle)
