There is no cash from leather traders in Rangpur. There is no possibility of getting a loan from a bank. About Tk 200 crore is due in arrears in tanneries in different parts of the country including Dhaka. About two thousand leather are sitting idle not being able to buy leather this time due to lack of money. Corona has also had a negative impact on the leather business.
Anwar Hossain is a seasonal leather trader from Bahadur Singh area of Rangpur city. Last year, on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, he bought 60 cow hides with a loan. The four of them worked hard all day and went to sell the purchased leather but failed. Regarding the purchase of leather this year, the seasonal trader said, “This time, there is no power or desire to buy leather. The local traders said that such a catastrophe has never been seen in the leather industry in the last one decade.
But seasonal leather traders and hawkers say the situation has been created in a syndicate of warehouse and tannery owners. That is why ordinary sellers are not getting the price of leather. This year too, the tannery owners will control the price of leather by syndicating - this is what the traders are worried about.”
On the other hand, there are millions of people involved in the leather business who are in dire straits. A day later, the Eid of Sacrifice. Every year around this Eid, the leather traders can be noticed, but this time it has brought a different picture as there is no capital with the effect of corona. It goes without saying that there is not much buying and selling in the cattle markets. Due to this, there has been extreme frustration among leather traders.According to the leather traders, 2-2.5 lakh pitches of leather were imported in each district at the time of sacrifice every year. As such, 35 to 40 lakh pitch cow hides were imported in 16 districts of Rangpur. They feared that the target would not be met this year. Even a few years ago, Uttara Leh had more than two hundred leather godowns.
At present it has come down to 40 to 50.
According to the traders, about 40 crore traders in Rangpur, seven crore out of 30 traders in Dinajpur, about 12 crore out of 50 traders in Bogura, about 100 crore out of 30 traders in Naogaon, about 14 crore out of 50 traders in Natore, about 12 out of 25 traders in Rajshahi. Crores of rupees are due to the tannery owners. They have not been able to raise this money even with dharna for the last few years. As a result, many people are making a living by doing alternative business instead of long-term leather business.
In this regard, Rangpur District Leather Traders Association President Abdul Latif Khan and General Secretary Azgar Ali said that the leather traders of Uttara Law owed more than Rs 200 crore to the tanneries. The government gives crores of bank loans to big tanneries. But leather traders are not given any kind of bank loan. As a result, leather traders have kept this business afloat by borrowing money. However, traders are not interested in buying leather this year as there is no capital for Eid-ul-Adha and the situation is similar to last year's due to the impact of Corona.
