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KHULNA, June 10, 2025 (BSS) – Traders have collected around 3.27 lakh rawhides from all 10 districts under the Khulna division during the holy Eid-ul-Azha.

This year traders collected rawhides mainly from madrasas, orphanages, Lillah boarding, mosques and individuals in the Khulna division from Saturday to Monday. 

They began to preserve the rawhides in their respective tanneries, depots, and various roadside locations, with the permission of the local administration.

This year, madrasas, orphanages, and Lillah boarding schools in the 10 districts of Khulna division have collected and preserved a total of 3,26,794 pieces of cow, buffalo and goat hides from sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha, according to the control room from Khulna division under the Ministry of Commerce.

Of the collected hides, 1,19,112 were collected from cows and buffaloes, and 2,07,682 were collected from goats, sheep and other sacrificial animals.

The district-wise breakdown of collected rawhides is as follows: Jashore - 75,185 pieces, Jhenaidah - 93,736 pieces, Kushtia - 36,737 pieces, Narail -30,715 pieces, Satkhira - 23,313 pieces, Khulna - 22,742 pieces, Meherpur - 18,085 pieces, Bagerhat- 13,057 pieces, Magura- 7,152 pieces and Chuadanga - 6,072 pieces.

All these hides were preserved using free salt supplied by the government, under the supervision of district and upazila administrations.

This year, the government distributed 7.50 lakh maunds of saltfree of cost to orphanages, mosques, and madrasas across the country to ensure that sacrificial hides could be properly preserved for 2 to 3 months at the local level. This initiative also aimed to protect the rights of orphans by helping institutions maintain the value of the hides.

The price of raw hides has increased a little bit compared to the last year. 

In addition, the price of salt in the market has slightly decreased this year compared to last year. About 150 grams to 200 grams of salt are required to preserve each kg of rawhide.

Talking to BSS, Akil Ahmed, President of Jashore Rawhides Traders Association, said, “We would show the actual picture about rawhide trading next Saturday”.

“We could not collect rawhides as we have an earlier fixed target.

 We have not found adequate labourers to spray salt to rawhides,” he said.

Contacted Abdus Salam Dhali, President of Khulna Rawhide Traders Association told BSS that the prices of rawhides fixed by the government are mainly for preserved and processed hides.

“We could not collect and preserve expected rawhides due to inadequate labourers, adequate tannery depot and fall of rawhides prices,” he said.

The government has fixed the prices of the salt-applied rawhides of cows at Tk 60 to Tk 65 per square foot in the city, Tk 55 to Tk 60 per square foot in the city and Tk 55 to Tk 60 per square foot outside the capital.

The price of goat hides was fixed at Tk 22 to Tk 27 per square foot, while the she-goat hides were fixed at Tk 20 to Tk 22 per square foot across the country.

Meanwhile, Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin on Monday said that a huge anarchy had prevailed in the country's leather sector over the last 15 years during the previous regime, which led to a drastic fall in this sector. 
 
"But, the interim government has been working to dismantle the syndicate in this sector that had grown over the years," he said while talking to journalists after visiting the activities related to the management of rawhides of sacrificial animals at Rajarhat in Jashore, known as the largest rawhide trading centre of the southern and western regions of the country.
 
Bashir said the initial priority was given to protecting the rights of the orphanages and madrasahs by ensuring fair price of rawhides.

Listing various steps of the government to ensure fair price of rawhides, he said that the government has provided some 7.50 lakh maunds of salt to properly preserve the rawhides, while Taka 220 crore has been disbursed among the tannery owners ahead of the Holy Eid-ul-Azha to enhance their capacity.