Rawhide prices fall in Gaibandha
Traders of the district are suffering loss due to sharp fall in prices of rawhide in Palashbari hide market after Eid-ul-Azha.
Kalibari market in Palashbari upazila is the largest trading place of rawhide in the northern region. Sellers and buyers from distant areas come here for trading in hides, which reaches the peak after Eid-ul-Azha.
The rawhide market this year has been very dull compared to last year due to the sharp fall in prices.
The seasonal traders who collected skins of sacrificial animals from door to door with the hope of getting profit sustained loss due to the unusually low price of hides in the market.
They procured cow skin for Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,400 per piece and goat skin for Tk 50 to Tk 60. Hide traders are, however, purchasing cow skin for Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 per piece and goat skin for Tk 30 to Tk 35.
Solaiman Mia, a seasonal hide trader of Ghoraghat upazila, said he procured 28 cowhides for Tk 22,500, but was compelled to sell those to wholesale traders for Tk 14,000.
Josizol Mia of Katlamari village under Fulchhari upazila said he bought 15 cowhides for Tk 1,800, but had to sell them to a trader for Tk 1,000.
The hide market in Palashbari is still dull as tannery owners are yet to start procuring hides. Warehouse owners are now purchasing hides from middlemen at low prices and stockpiling them so they can sell them when market price rises, said Altaf Hossain Mollah, president of Palashbari Hide Traders' Association.
Due to the low price, hides are being smuggled out of the country, Altaf added.
This year we had a target of trading over one lakh pieces of hides in Palashbari market, but the dull market discouraged buyers of other districts to purchase hides here, Altaf said.
Every year, large quantities of animal hides would be brought here from distant places just for getting fair price. Rawhide traders of Bogra, Joypurhat, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgoan, Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kurigram depended on Palashbari hide market for a good profit, but this year the market has disappointed them, said Shamim Sardar, hide trader of Palashbari.
Tanneries and companies manufacturing leather products will procure huge quantities of hides in due course. Small traders will be ruined if the market price remains static, said Abdul Hannan, another trader of Palashbari.
The administration has deployed mobile teams to avert any untoward incident in the hide market and taken adequate measures for the security of sellers and buyers, said Tofazzal Hossain, upazila nirbahi officer of Palashbari.
All security measures have been taken to stop smuggling of rawhide from Palashbari market, said Ashraful Islam, Superintendent of police in Gaibandha.
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