Cumilla's seasonal traders in trouble with hides again
Zakir Azad , Cumilla
The bulk of the year's leather demand comes from the animal sacrifices of the holy Eid-ul-Azha. And when Eid actually begins, tannery owners and traders start manipulating leather. In such a situation, seasonal traders are buying leather in a bid to dilute the government's decision.
In the wake of the government's decision, seasonal traders who went around buying leather on Eid in the hope that the price of leather might increase this year; hands on their heads. Far from making a profit, they could not sell the leather they bought with their capital even at half the price. Like the past few years, their 'continuity of losses' continues this time too.
As a result, seasonal traders in 17 upazilas including Cumilla metropolis are in trouble with leather. Some have sold the leather at a loss; while others have finally thrown the leather they bought into the water in the hope of additional profit. In such a situation, seasonal traders blame the traders. And the shopkeepers blame the tannery owners.
It was found that 2,46,063 animals have been sacrificed in Cumilla this year. Of these, 1,94,347 are cows and 51,716 are goats and sheep. Since the animal sacrifice on Saturday (June 7), two-thirds of the skins have been collected from different places in Cumilla . Of this, cow skins have been collected, but goat skins have not been preserved. Unable to preserve the remaining one-third, some have buried them in the ground and some have thrown them into the water.
On Sunday (June 8), the day after Eid, at 11 am, seasonal traders threw a huge amount of skins into the Kakri River from the Rajar Bazar Bridge in Chauddagram Upazila of the district. The video went viral on social media.
In the viral video, a seasonal leather trader expressed his anger and said, "I have been visiting different neighborhoods and neighborhoods to buy skins. No one has inquired about the price of the skins all day long. The skins were ruined the next day." So we were forced to throw it in the water.
At 11 pm on Saturday, several seasonal traders from Tonki village of Companiganj area of Muradnagar upazila of the district said - Eklas Mia, a trader from the neighboring Bakharnagar area, has formed a syndicate. No outside wholesalers come on the Companiganj-Nabinagar road. We have bought the skins at a price of 400 to 450 taka. And Eklas wholesalers do not charge more than 200 taka on average.
Seasonal trader Ayub said - Since the government has fixed the price of skins at 1,150 taka, we have bought the skins at that price. Now the traders say - Tanneries do not take skins, so we cannot pay more for the skins.
Kazi Hanif, vice-president of the Batapukuria Jame Mosque Management Committee of Barkamta Union of Debidwar upazila, said - No one in this community sells skins. All the skins are given to the mosque. This year we have received 114 skins. Since Saturday afternoon, some have come and are asking for 300 to 350 taka, while others are asking for 400 taka for each skin.
Later, no one else even told the price. We were forced to sell the skins at 200 taka at 11 pm, helpless.
The big leather market in Comilla is Elliotganj Bazar, on the border of Chandina and Daudkandi upazilas. There are several leather dealers in that market. Although half a lakh skins are bought in this market every year, this time they have collected only 7,500 skins. Due to this, it has affected the entire district.
Abu Hanif Judge, a leather dealer at that market, said - many traders are leaving this profession because of tannery owners.
There were 15-20 leather dealers in Elliotganj Haat. Now this number has reduced to 5-6. Tannery owners are cheating traders like us step by step. Although the government has fixed the price of each salted skin at 1,150 taka, the tannery owners sort the skins into 4 parts. Although the price of grade-1 skin is 1,150 taka, the price of the other three grades is not even half. Again, tanneries take skins in arrears of 2-3 months and do not pay for them even in 1-2 years. With such a problem, the leather industry is on the verge of collapse. The government must intervene directly to solve this problem.
Chandina leather dealer Milan Mia said - I buy 8-10 thousand skins every year. But this year I have bought only 3 and a half thousand. Citing the reason, he said - the government has fixed the price of each skin at 1 thousand 150 taka.
Chandina leather dealer Milan Mia said - I buy 8-10 thousand skins every year. But this year I have bought only 3 and a half thousand. Citing the reason, he said - the government has fixed the price of each skin at 1 thousand 150 taka.
This information has been disseminated by the Hujurs of various mosques. But they do not know exactly which skin is worth 1 thousand 150 taka. Due to which, seasonal traders are in trouble by buying skins at a high price. Salt has to be added within 6 hours of separating the skin from the animal's body, but seasonal traders spend 8-10 hours in the hope of getting more money, and many skins have been ruined in the intense heat. Due to which many seasonal traders have not been able to buy skins and sell them.
District Animal Resources Officer Chandan Kumar Poddar said - Although we are aware of the issue of animal husbandry and sacrifice, the Ministry of Commerce regulates the preservation of skins. The Cumilla Chamber of Commerce can speak well on this issue. Even so, as far as we know, most of the skins have been collected from various traders and various madrasas.
When asked about this, Jamal Ahmed, Vice President of the Cumilla Chamber of Commerce, said - There is no one in our Chamber of Commerce who does leather business. That is why we do not have accurate information. However, according to our knowledge, the skins of seasonal traders who did not sell their skins on time in the hope of more profit have been damaged more.
It is mentioned that this year, the government has fixed the price of each salted cow skin in Dhaka at 1,350 taka and each salted cow skin outside Dhaka at 1,150 taka.
