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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Economy & Trade

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From Daily Star · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

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  • Traders and villagers in Moulvibazar, Bangladesh, were forced to dump or bury sacrificial hides during Eid-ul-Azha due to a lack of buyers and a severe salt shortage.
  • Religious institutions, traditionally major collectors, largely abstained this year due to mounting financial losses from previous years.
  • Inadequate hide preservation infrastructure and unpaid dues from tannery owners have crippled the local market, leading to significant losses for traders.

The Eid-ul-Azha festival in Moulvibazar, Bangladesh, was marred by the loss of hundreds of sacrificial hides. Traders and villagers resorted to dumping or burying the hides as a severe shortage of salt and a lack of buyers prevented preservation. This situation left many unable to process the hides collected during the religious holiday.

Last year, no wholesaler came either, but at least the local madrasa students took them. This time, nobody came. We waited a day and then buried them. The whole village did the same.

— Jalal MiaA villager from Ramchandrapur describing the disposal of sacrificial hides.

Traditionally, students from madrasas and orphanages were key collectors of these hides. However, this year, many religious institutions opted out, citing significant financial losses incurred in previous years. A teacher from a Qawmi madrasa explained that the cost of collecting hides now outweighs the revenue from selling them, leading to their non-participation.

We incurred losses last year, so we simply did not participate this time.

— Maulana Mizan AhmedA teacher explaining a madrasa's decision not to collect hides.

Compounding the problem is the district's chronic lack of adequate hide-preservation infrastructure. Buyers offered extremely low prices, sometimes as little as Tk 50 to Tk 100 per hide, deterring many seasonal traders. Reports indicate that apart from a few depots, preservation facilities are virtually non-existent elsewhere in the district.

Hides that have already started to smell will have to be buried or floated down the Manu River. There is no other way.

— Md ShawkatPresident of the Balikandi Bazar Rawhide Traders Association, detailing the grim situation.

The situation has been further exacerbated by Tk 95 lakh in unpaid dues from last year owed by tannery owners and depot traders. This financial strain has paralyzed the local market. Traders who did engage in the trade faced substantial losses, with some purchasing hides only to find no buyers and uncertain about how to dispose of them. The rawhide market in Balikandi, with a history spanning two centuries, has seen a steady decline over the past decade, with tannery owners withholding payments amounting to crores of taka, forcing families to abandon this traditional livelihood.

Buyers are offering Tk 30 to Tk 40 per piece. I spent money renting a vehicle to get here. Now I don't even know where to discard them.

— Abdus ShahidA trader from Sylhet recounting his difficulties in selling purchased hides.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Daily Star. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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