Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning. The skin from buffalo or cattle from which most rawhide originates is prepared by removing all fur, meat and fat.
Experts have blamed the lack of policy, syndication by tanners, their ‘cash crunch’ and a fall in the demand for leather products for the unprecedented fall in the prices of rawhide of sacrificed animals this year.
The drastic fall in rawhide prices forced seasonal traders in different districts, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Khulna, to throw away thousands of pieces of rawhide of cows, goats and buffaloes during Eid-ul-Azha.
Also read: Slump in rawhide prices: CCC removes 15000 pieces from roads
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $1.01 billion by exporting leather, leather goods and leather footwear in the fiscal year of 2018-19. The export earnings from the leather sector were $1.08 billion in the FY2017-18.
A UNB photojournalist grabbed some photos of activity at the Lalbagh rawhide market on Tuesday.
Salt being applied on the rawhide for preservation.
Workers carry rawhide on the baskets to deliver them to Lalbagh rawhide market.
Workers unload rawhide from a truck that collected them from different places.
Two workers shifting rawhide from a truck into the basket of another worker at Lalbagh rawhide market.