Failing to sell rawhides even at a nominal price, many seasonal traders in Chittagong dumped the rotten rawhides on the streets much like last year.
Morshedul Alam Chowdury, deputy chief conservancy officer of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) told Dhaka Tribune that they have removed some as many as 15,000 pieces of discarded rawhide from six different spots of the city on the second day of Eid-ul-Azha.
“The rotten rawhides were collected mostly from Aturar Depot, Postar Par and Agrabad areas,” the CCC official said.
This Eid-ul-Azha seasonal rawhide traders in Chittagong have been compelled to stay off the market due to the current plummeting prices and huge losses incurred last year.
A hide of a cow used to be sold at Tk2,000-3,000 a couple of years back but the price has now come down to Tk300-400.
Taking advantage of the situation, the merchants purchased rawhide at dirt cheap rates through their agents who worked on contract for fees or meager profits.
Moslem Uddin, adviser to Chittagong Rawhide Warehouse Traders’ Cooperative Association Ltd told the Dhaka Tribune that the cowhides were sold at Tk300-400.
The veteran rawhide trader admitted that this time the seasonal traders shunned their businesses.
“Seasonal traders do not have any clear idea about the market. In the hope of making large profits, they make delays in selling the rawhide. By this time, the rawhide starts to rot,” said Moslem.
“We have procured 100,000 pieces of rawhide on the first day of Eid. This time we have a target of procuring around 400,000 pieces of rawhide since 30% less rawhide may be collected due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Moslem added.
“As you know, rawhide is a perishable item. Usually one or two percent rawhide gets damaged due to hot weather. You have to treat the rawhide with salt within 5-6 hours of slaughtering the animals. Otherwise, it will get damaged. The rawhide will get damaged if you do not treat it with an adequate amount of salt,” said Abdul Kader, former president of Chittagong Rawhide Warehouse Traders’ Cooperative Association Ltd.
