After the animal sacrifices during Eid-ul-Adha, students from madrasas and orphanages have begun collecting the hides. This year, seasonal hide traders are absent due to low prices. Many are voluntarily donating hides to madrasas, while some madrasas are purchasing them. By noon, piles of hides were seen in front of almost every madrasa and orphanage. These hides will later be sent to tanneries in Savar. Tanneries owners are maintaining contact with madrasa and orphanage authorities through representatives.
The collection of hides continues after the Eid-ul-Adha sacrifices. Hides from sacrificial animals in the capital and surrounding areas have started arriving at the Savar trading hubs. However, buyers and sellers are engaged in price disputes. Traders are reluctant to buy hides at government-fixed prices due to fear of losses.
Millions of animals were sacrificed across the country, and now the hide collection is underway. Most hides from Dhaka city come from the Science Lab area. From 10am, sellers and middlemen began bringing sacrificial animal hides there.
From noon, hides started arriving at the trading hubs near Savar’s leather industrial town via rickshaws from nearby areas. Price negotiations are also ongoing here.
Traders are offering Tk600-700 taka per piece for cow hides, depending on quality, while goat hides are being sold for Tk50. Complaints about prices have arisen from both sides. The association of trading hub owners says they will not buy hides at government-fixed prices to avoid losses.
At Aminbazar, one of the capital’s main entry points, thousands of hides have been salted and stored as usual this year.
Organisational secretary of the Savar Raw Hide Traders Association Md Emdadul Haque Sohrab stated that buying hides at government-fixed prices is not feasible because salt and labour costs must be added. Purchasing at fixed prices would result in losses. This year, during the Eid-ul-Adha season, the minimum price for salted hides in Dhaka has been set at Tk1,350, while outside Dhaka, it is Tk1,150. Larger hides will fetch higher prices.
However, raw hides are usually sold without salt immediately after Eid. Prices for such hides are not fixed and are determined through negotiations between buyers and sellers.
In Dhaka, the price for salted cow hides has been set at Tk60-65 per square foot, and outside Dhaka, at Tk55-60. The minimum price for raw hides in Dhaka has been fixed at Tk1,350, while outside Dhaka, it is Tk1,150.
Additionally, the purchase price for sheep hides has been set at Tk22-27 per square foot, and for goat hides at Tk20-22. Meanwhile, in 2024, the price for each raw cow hide in Dhaka was set Tk50-100 higher than the previous year. Despite this, cow hides were sold for Tk275-300 less than the fixed rate. Traders have shown reluctance to buy goat hides, which were sold for a maximum of Tk10 taka last year. In Posta, Dhaka, cow hides were sold for Tk200-900 per piece, depending on quality and size.