Kushtia hides market buoyant five days after Eid

Till yesterday afternoon, hides and skin worth Tk 20 crore were transacted in the markets, dealers and wholesale traders told this correspondent.

The transactions may reach Tk 50 crore in Kushtia markets this season, they hoped.

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Dealers in Kushtia, the second largest hides and skin market in the country, had stopped sale as the prices fixed ahead of Eid were not satisfactory, sources said.

Dhaka-based tanneries, in consultation with the government, had fixed the prices at Tk 35-42 per square feet for goatskin and Tk 45-Tk 55 for hides. This was lower than the prices at primary markets, dealers here said.

They said they bought goatskin at Tk 50-52 per square feet and hides at Tk 55-60 from people at villages.

But when they came to sell those, buyers at wholesale markets offered lower prices and so they stopped sale. Most of them stored the goods they bought since the Eid day.

Usually, hides and skin from ten southwestern districts and five northern districts are brought to wholesale markets in Kushtia after every Eid. The districts include Rajsahi, Jessore, Natore, Rajbari and Faridpur.

The stalemate in the markets raised a fear of hides and skin being smuggled across the border, where there is a good market for the items from Bangladesh.

Moreover, Kushtia is known for producing the world famous 'Black Bengal' goatskin.

Matiur Rahman, Advisor to Kushtia Hide Traders Association said, like tanners in Dhaka, traders here should also get soft loan from the government during Eud-ul-Azha to stop smuggling of the items across the border.

Due to fund shortage, local traders cannot collect the entire quantity during the Eid and chances of those being smuggled out can not ruled out, he said.