Govt to green-light rawhide exports

The government plans to allow rawhide exports to prevent the smuggling of the item, Commerce Minister GM Quader said yesterday.
“Rawhide business is in trouble. We are worried about low prices in the local market,” he said.
The final decision will be taken in a week's time, after talks with businessmen and other stakeholders, according to Quader.
The green light for exports, however, will come with conditions, such as export duty and minimum export price for per square feet of leather.
“Some other conditions might be applied after consultation with the businessmen of the sector,” he said.
The price of rawhide was 20 percent lower this Eid-ul-Azha due to tanners sitting on unsold hide from last year, with their processing capacity already stretched out, sector leaders said.