Oversupply, rule violation leads to unfair rawhide prices: DNCRP

An oversupply of raw animal hides relative to demand, inadequate maintenance systems, and non-compliance with restrictions on bringing sacrificial raw hides into Dhaka from outside have led to unfair prices for raw hides, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).

“During Eid-ul-Azha this year, there were 400,000 surplus skins in Dhaka, which could not be processed on time,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at a shadow parliamentary debate competition organized by Debate for Democracy (DFD) on ensuring fair price of rawhide at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) on Saturday.

The event was chaired by DFD Chairman Hassan Ahamed Chowdhury Kiron.

“Ensuring fair prices for raw hides is a moral duty. Failure to fulfil this duty means that the poor and powerless in society are deprived of what is rightfully theirs,” said AHM Shafiquzzaman.

Stating that during this year’s Eid-ul-Azha, restrictions on import of sacrificial hides from outside to Dhaka were not followed, the DNCRP director general said there was a need to investigate whether there is any syndicate in the rawhide market even though no visible ring was seen to control the price of rawhide.

Highlighting the oversupply, AHM Shafiquzzaman said, “Despite an annual domestic demand of two million hides, the supply stands at 20 million,” indicating that this further depresses rawhide prices in the market.

The general director of the DNCRP also spoke about the environment of the capital’s tanneries. “The objective of environmental protection which led to relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar has not been achieved as leather processing continues in Postogola,” he said.

In his speech, Kiron said that the continuous decline in leather prices since 2019 has not yet been reversed. There are allegations that tannery owners and middlemen are forcing small traders to sell their hides at very low prices through syndicates.

“There is a need to investigate through intelligence services whether there are syndicates controlling the leather market. The value of sacrificial skins is a right of the poor and destitute. Anyone involved in destroying this right through syndicates must be identified and brought to justice,” he said.

Kiron believes that this issue deserves to be discussed in Parliament and he has requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention if necessary.

The DFD Chairman also said that to market Bangladeshi leather internationally, obtaining certification from the Leather Working Group (LWG) is crucial, along with ensuring environmental protection and social compliance .

“Decentralisation of leather processing from Dhaka to modern processing facilities at the district level would benefit the public. This would help ensure fair prices for leather,” he said.

In the parallel parliamentary debate organized by the DFD on fair prices of raw hides, debaters from American International University Bangladesh (AIUB) won, defeating debaters from Prime University. Trophies, badges and certificates were presented to the winning teams at the end of the competition.