News Report Fixation of raw hides at lower rate may encourage smuggling of the item to the neighbouring countries, traders and merchants have apprehended. Tanners fixed the price of salted cowhides at Tk 50-55 per square foot in the capital and at Tk 40-45 for the rest of the country, which are the lowest rates in five years for the skin of sacrificial animals. The prices of goat hide range between Tk 15 and Tk 22 per square foot, down from Tk 35 last year. Last year, the rates for cowhides stood at Tk 65-70 in Dhaka and Tk 60-Tk 65 in the rest of the country. The rates are also at least 30 percent lower than the previous year. Cowhides were sold Tk 50-60 per square foot in 2011. Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters’ Association (BFLLFEA), Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), and Bangladesh Hides and Skin Merchants Association, the three leading trade bodies in the sector, announced this year’s rates after a meeting in Dhaka yesterday. Leaders of the associations defended the rates, blaming low prices in the international markets, devaluation of currencies of importing countries and standing stockpiles of rawhides held by tanneries. BFLLFEA President M Abu Taher said the prices of finished leather fell 30 percent in international markets. Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association President Engineer Mohamamad Abu Taher said Bangladesh Bank should arrange soft loans for the leather sector to shift tanneries from the city’s Hazaribagh area to Savar. He expressed the views that Bangladesh Bank in consultation with World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international finance institutes called arrange some taka 5500 crore for distributing among the leather sector at 5.00 per cent interest. He said international leather market is valued at 260 billion US dollars and Bangladesh can take a substantial portion by ensuring world standard production facility. Abu Taher said Bangladesh will get better prices in the international market provided environment friendly production facilities are ensured. Abu Taher, a formerly BGMEA vice president, said without maintaining environment friendly production process, no exporter can sustain in the international markets. An environmentally sound leather sector in Bangladesh has the potential to take a larger share of the global export market and become a key driver of the nation’s development, he said. He said Bangladesh with a population of 160 million can survive economically through creation of industrial jobs. Abu Taher said the leather sector has the potential to take the position of readymade garment sector provided the government extends all sorts of cooperation to the sector. Stakeholders believe the country’s leather industry would see greater potentials once the tanneries are shifted from Dhaka’s Hazaribagh to Savar. Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (LGFMEA) President Syed Nasim Manjur said at least 51 foreign companies have expressed interest in establishing joint-venture footwear units in Bangladesh. “China, the world’s largest footwear manufacturer, is now withdrawing from the global market. And our country is ready with huge potentials to attract foreign investments in the sector,” he said. According to a report, China’s annual leather footwear production had dropped by 5.29 percent in 2012 and 7.45 percent in 2013. Bangladeshi manufacturers are planning to fill the vacuum in the international footwear market being left by China. Orion Footwear Chief Executive Officer Ruhul Amin Molla said Bangladesh’s footwear sector was poised for a big expansion. Until 1990, Bangladesh used to export mainly raw hide, wet blue leather, and crust leather. But now it is concentrating on exporting finished leather and leather goods. Bangladesh Hides and Skin Merchant Association President Md Ali Hossain said the country annually produced 200-300 million square feet of finished leather, most of which is exported. He said Bangladeshi leather is the best in the world after the French product. Exports of leather and leather goods crossed $1 billion for the second year in fiscal 2014-15, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. In 2014-15, Bangladesh exported leather and leather goods worth $1.13 billion, compared with $1.12 billion in the previous fiscal year, making it the second highest contributor to national exports after garment. Jute and jute goods became the third highest export earner, data shows. Bangladesh exports leather shoes, travel bags, wallets, belts and finished leather. Aniruddha Roy, the managing director of RMM Leather Industries, which was the first Bangladeshi company to receive an international award for production of eco-friendly leather. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned $ 1.29 billion from exports of leather, leather goods and footwear in the 2013-14 fiscal. According to the LGFMEA, 110 export-oriented factories manufacture footwear in the country. Of them, Apex, FB, Picard Bangladesh, Jenny’s, Akij, RMM Bengal and Bay have their own tanneries and leather processing units. There are another 207 leather processing units in the country. Asked about the reasons for China’s focus shift, Bangladesh Footwear and Footwear Accessories Association General Secretary Humayun Kabir said labour cost there had gone up. Bangladeshi manufacturers are seeing bright prospects for the leather sector after the readymade garment industry because of a policy change in China, the world’s largest economy. They expect Bangladesh to be an attractive destination for leather sector entrepreneurs as China, the world’s largest footwear manufacturer, is shifting focus from this sector.
