The government plans to introduce a system of fixing rational prices of rawhide of sacrificial animals from next Eid-ul-Azha in a bid to prevent repeat of the price debacle seen this year, officials said.
To this end, the authorities concerned for the first time is going to conduct a study to set out rational strategies on buy-and-sale process, they added.
Besides, the price of cowhide (salted/non-salted) will be fixed separately and money supply be ensured for seasonal merchants and others.
The prices of salted/non-salted skins were fixed in the previous years, they mentioned.
"We're considering fixing fair rawhide prices for every Eid-ul-Azha to satisfy both owners of sacrificial animals and traders," director (trade organisation) and additional commerce secretary Md Obaidul Azam.
A proposal has recently sent to the commerce secretary for approval in this regard, he told the FE on Wednesday.
Help will be sought from the Sector Competitiveness Advisory project implemented by the International Finance Corporation to operate a study upon commerce ministry's approval, said an official document.
On August 28, commerce minister Tipu Munshi told a press briefing at his secretariat office, "We've learned from this year's poor rawhide prices during the second-largest festival of Muslims."
"We'll take steps to ensure fair prices from the next Eid-ul-Azha," he said.
Thousands of pieces of rawhide remained unsold during last Eid-ul-Azha.
Having failed to get expected prices, hundreds of people buried their cow, goat and buffalo rawhide. Others sold them at dumped rates.
A drastic fall in prices forced rawhide owners and traders in districts like Chattogram, Sylhet, Narayanganj, Tangail, Dhaka, Narsingdi, Khulna and Rajshahi to throw away the hides during the festival.
Cowhide was sold between Tk 100, Tk 200 and Tk 300 a piece this year, whereas usual prices are around Tk 1,500, Tk 2,000 and Tk 3,000 respectively.
Seasonal rawhide traders and tanners blamed a 'syndicate' for this drop in prices as cowhide prices began to fall on the evening of Eid.
The merchants blamed tanners for the steep fall in prices, alleging that dues from past years forced them to offer low prices or stop buying skins.
When contacted over phone, many traders declined to make any comment as they do not have any idea about the study process.
