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Rawhide traders upbeat
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skins and hides from seasonal traders who collect those from individuals.
Khan said rawhide merchants have been demanding clearing all arrears of 2015 and 2016. This year tanners could not clear arrears of those two years due to low sale of their previous stocks of tanned hides, he said.
The dues accumulating in those two years marked the beginning of a downturn in the rawhide business as rawhide merchants at that time could not buy as much hides and skins from seasonal traders as they would have liked.
The slump in business has continued till date.
Khan also said prior to the payments made this year, the arrears of 2015 and 2016 amounted to Tk 110 crore. Now less than Tk 100 crore was due as tanners have already made some payments, he said.
It is expected that tanners will gradually clear all arrears so that rawhide merchants can properly maintain their business, said Khan.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock estimates that some 1.2 crore animals could end up being sacrificed this year, two lakh more from that last year.
Khan recommended proper application of salt at the collection stage, saying it would help preserve rawhides for at least two months.
The commerce ministry also suggested the same and to sell the skins when prices go up in the markets.
The government has directed not to bring any rawhide from around the country to Dhaka and Savar Tannery Industrial Estate (STIE) for one week from Eid day.
It has also allowed 14 companies to export 60 lakh square feet of rawhide this year. The export had been banned for some 30 years or so.
Shahin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tanners Association, is also hopeful of securing good business this year as the rawhide merchants have already been paid. “Our preparation is also good so far,” he said.
Tanners could avail Tk 170 crore from four banks this year against their demand for Tk 600 crore, he said.
He also complained that the STIE was yet to be fully functional even though a huge amount of money and time had been spent behind it.
The STIE has no chrome recovery and solid waste management facilities, for whichtanners fail to meet international regulations and to secure better prices from international retailers and brands, he said.
Furthermore, the local environment is also being damaged, he said.
Local tanners have to sell tanned hides and skins at a price 40 per cent below the international rate for this non-compliance and for not having a much-needed Labour Working Group certification.
The central effluent treatment plant (CETP) of the STIE has a capacity to treat 25,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day. But during Eid-ul-Azha, 42,000-45,000 cubic metres ends up being generated each day.
To cope with the additional pressure during Eid, the estate authorities have divided the 134 tanneries that are up and running into groups and allotted them time slots for discharging wastewater.
“We have initiated a system so that the capacity of the CETP can be properly used,” said Mustak Ahmed, managing director of the STIE and a deputy secretary to the industries ministry.

Forex reserves
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Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, said that remittances would face sluggishness after Eid.
Remittances contracted in 2021-22, the first time in six years, as many remitters opted for the informal channels to send their money. The inflow stood at $21.03 billion.
The central bank is now injecting US dollars on a regular basis into the money market, helping banks settle import bills.
It supplied a record $7.62 billion in the last fiscal year of 2021-22 and $209 million in the current fiscal year.
Still, the BB has failed to stop the depreciation of the exchange rate of the local currency. The taka traded at Tk 93.45 to a dollar yesterday compared to Tk 84.80 a year ago.