Eid Bounty For Leather Sector

Processing of rawhide is going on in full swing in the tanneries.

Cowhide prices are Tk 70- Tk 75 per square foot in the capital and Tk 60- Tk 65 elsewhere in the country, a 24 percent decline from last year.

Supply of rawhide may rise by 10-12 percent this year. More than 65 lakh cattle were sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Azha last year, sources at the Department of Livestock said.

About 22 crore sq-ft rawhide is collected by 194 tanners in the country every year, and half of the supply comes during Eid-ul-Azha.

Rawhide worth about Tk 4,000 crore is traded on the Eid day alone, industry operators said.

In fiscal 2013-14, Bangladesh exported leather and leather products worth $1.29 billion, according to Export Promotion Bureau.

Japan, EU and the US are the major markets for Bangladeshi leather and leather goods.

The photos have been taken in Old Dhaka and Hazaribagh industrial area.

Photo: Anisur Rahman