Industries Ministry has taken an initiative to preserve sacrificial animal rawhide in ‘dochala’ houses by using adequate salt for ensuring fair price of rawhide at the marginal level.

To this end, the ministry has already provided necessary guidelines for the implementation of this initiative through the district administration.

Talking to BSS, Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana said in this process, the rawhide can be stored for up to three months and if tannery owners buy leather from all those places, the quality of leather will remain intact.

She informed that the ministry wants to ensure fair price of the sacrificial animal rawhide and under the process of preserving, the rawhide traders will be benefited.

Zakia Sultana said Industries Ministry has also taken initiative to ensure uninterrupted supply of salt to dealers, wholesalers and retailers for proper preservation and processing of sacrificial animal rawhide during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

On an average, she said, about 80,000 tons of salt is needed every year to preserve the sacrificial animal rawhide. With the current stock, it will be possible to meet the demand for salt, she added.

“We are also ensuring store and purchase of salt near the cattle market,” she said.

However, Zakia Sultana informed that the government has fixed the prices of the salt-applied rawhides of cows at Tk 40-45 per square feet in Dhaka and Tk 33-37 across the country.

Amid Covid-19 fallout in business, the old stock of leather, current global supply and demand have been considered in fixing the prices, she added.

She said the field administration has been directed to assist the concerned businesses hoping that there would be no problem this time in collection, preserving, buying and selling of rawhides of sacrificial animals.

The industries secretary said the export of rawhides has increased in recent times and it would further increase as the government has already announced to allow export of 1.20 crore square feet wet blue leather.

“Permission will be given for exporting more wet blue leather. The new leather industrial estate in Savar has started its operations in full swing,” she added.

She informed that the government has taken necessary steps to make the country’s people aware for properly collecting and preserving rawhides through necessary campaigns, publicity and distribution of leaflets.