Industry Advisor Blames “Inexperience” for Ruined Leather Worth Thousands of Crores

Staff Reporter

For decades, Bangladesh’s industrial entrepreneurs have contributed to the leather sector, one of the country’s top export industries. Every year during Eid-ul-Adha, tanneries collect leather worth thousands of crores, forming the backbone of this sector. However, this year’s Eid-ul-Adha leather collection has been a complete failure.

Industry insiders claim that the interim government’s indifference, mismanagement, and incompetence have led to the wastage of leather worth thousands of crores. Small-scale leather traders, unable to process the hides or fetch fair prices, have discarded them in dumping grounds. As a result, the tannery industry is set to face billion-dollar losses in the coming days.

However, Industry Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan dismissed allegations of the Yunus government’s inefficiency and mismanagement, instead citing “inexperience” as the excuse.

He claimed that many applied salt to the hides too late, causing spoilage and reduced quality, which led to lower prices for traders.

The advisor made these remarks during a media briefing after inspecting the Leather Industrial City in Savar yesterday, responding to counter-allegations between middlemen and seasonal traders about falling leather prices.

Adilur stated that 378,000 pieces of leather have arrived at the industrial city so far, while 750,000 pieces remain in Dhaka.

Highlighting that 30,000 tons of salt were distributed this year, the advisor said sufficient salt was supplied to prevent rotting and price drops. Yet, he admitted that some hides were ruined due to inexperience, causing those traders to receive lower prices.

The advisor insisted the amount of spoiled leather was minimal.

However, social media and various news reports show traders abandoning large quantities of leather on roadsides, later dumped in wastelands. Many also threw hides into rivers and canals after failing to get desired prices.

The advisor explained that salting hides has a specific timeframe, and delays affected quality, leading to price drops in many cases.

He claimed that government efforts ensured very few hides were ruined this year.

Notably, 10 to 12 million animals are sacrificed nationwide annually. The 300,000-400,000 hides reaching tanneries or the 750,000 in stock are negligible compared to the total, indicating massive wastage this year.