A Z Al Muzahid, Kishoreganj

A severe stagnation has descended upon the traditional hide market of Kishoreganj. Like every year, centering on Eid-ul-Adha, thousands of pieces of hides have been brought to 'Morog Mohol' in the municipal market—the largest hide market in the district—by marginal and seasonal traders.

However, due to the lack of proper prices, the Kishoreganj hide market is now filled only with the sighs and lamentations of small traders. Due to the syndicate of Dhaka wholesalers and the complete absence of any representatives from tannery owners in the market, traders are forced to sell hides at less than half of the government-fixed prices. As a result, hundreds of traders coming from surrounding areas and distant haor regions of the district have lost their capital and are facing massive losses.

Although the government fixed the price of hides outside Dhaka at 52 BDT per square foot this year, no reflection of this was seen in the local market of Kishoreganj. Seasonal traders arriving from Mithamoin and other haor areas stated that while collecting hides from different areas and factoring in transport and salt costs, their total expenditure per piece came to around Tk 700 . Yet, upon arriving at the market, they are being offered only TK 100 to 400 by Dhaka wholesalers. In fact, some hides are being priced as low as 50 to 150 BDT. Expressing their anger over the heavy losses, many traders declared that they would never engage in the hide business again. Suffering immense distress after purchasing the hides, these marginal traders demand that the government should not just fix prices verbally, but should also arrange to buy hides directly from them at that specified rate.

Looking at the core reasons behind the traders' anger, a severe price disaster has emerged in the market. While traders incurred an expense of nearly 700 BDT per piece including transport, production, and preservation costs, they are getting only Tk 100 to 400 in the market.

Victims blame a clear lack of government monitoring for this crisis, because while the price outside Dhaka was set at 52 BDT per square foot on paper, wholesalers on the ground are offering a mere 20 BDT. On top of this, the grasp of a syndicate has gripped the market; due to the absence of tannery owners' representatives or buyers, Dhaka wholesalers have formed a monopoly syndicate, leaving the entire market customerless and stagnant.

Meanwhile, wholesalers coming from Dhaka are blaming the direct absence of tannery owners for this crisis faced by small and seasonal traders. They claim that because there are no tannery representatives in the market, they themselves do not dare to buy large volumes of hides.

Where the target was to buy 10,000 to 15,000 pieces of hides, they are purchasing only a few thousand pieces. The wholesalers stated bluntly, "

The government only fixes the price, the government doesn't buy the hides itself; hides are bought by tannery owners." Consequently, due to the lack of government oversight, the tyranny of the syndicate, and the indifference of tannery owners, the marginal traders involved in this traditional hide industry of Kishoreganj are now on the brink of ruin.