TBT DESK: The government has attributed the failure to secure fair prices for sacrificial animal hides this Eid-ul-Azha to a lack of public awareness regarding proper preservation techniques.
Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir made the remarks while speaking to journalists at the Secretariat on Monday, responding to questions about the seasonal leather market situation.
He said hides must be treated with salt immediately after slaughter to prevent rapid deterioration. In many cases, however, delays in preservation have led to a decline in quality, affecting market prices.
The minister noted that government-set prices apply only to properly preserved, salted hides. He added that a significant number of hides are donated at the household level during Eid, and in such cases, immediate preservation is often not carried out, resulting in spoilage and reduced value.
He also pointed out that the government had distributed salt free of charge this year to support proper preservation. Despite this initiative, he said, gaps in awareness and handling at the grassroots level led to quality losses.
Emphasising the sector’s long-term potential, he said that well-preserved hides could serve as a vital raw material for Bangladesh’s leather and leather goods industry, which remains an important export-oriented sector.
He stressed the need for stronger field-level awareness campaigns to ensure better handling of hides in future Eid seasons.
The minister also briefly commented on the upcoming national budget, saying it would be business- and investment-friendly, aimed at boosting economic activity, investment and employment generation across the country.
