Businesses want cold storages at marginal level for preserving rawhides

Rawhide traders and tannery owners want cold storage facilities at marginal level including in Natore, Chattogram and Dhaka to properly preserve, maintain and to prevent the rawhides of sacrificial animals from rotting.

They said it is possible to eliminate the rawhide and leather storage crisis within a short time by modernizing the unused storage facilities in different areas. In this way, a large number of sacrificial animal raw hides will be saved from spoiling every year and thus such assets of the country will be protected.

These opinions came up in the meeting of the standing committee on hide and skin, leather, leather goods and artificial leather of the FBCCI held at its Motijheel office on Sunday.

Chairman of the committee and former director of FBCCI Shaheen Ahmed presided over the meeting. Director of FBCCI and former president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Saiful Islam served as the director-in-charge of the committee, according to a press release.

Speaking at the meeting as the chief guest, Senior Vice President of FBCCI Md Amin Helali said that the government should strengthen the storage facilities in every district to save the raw hide.

“If necessary, the private sector can be involved in this initiative.  Besides, cent per cent compliance of the leather industry should be ensured,” he added.

Helali said compliance has to be ensured not only for the export market but also for the production of the local market.

He also gave special importance to increasing the competitiveness of the leather industry.

In order to ensure compliance, the leather industry has been shifted from Hazaribagh to Savar. Although a long time has passed, the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is yet to become fully operational.

Besides, weaknesses also exist in solid waste management which is a big obstacle in getting international environmental clearance (Leather Working Group Compliance Certificate).

Standing Committee Director-in-Charge Md Saiful Islam said that this is one of the obstacles in the growth of the export of leather and leather products.

Chairman of the committee Shaheen Ahmed emphasized providing loans on soft terms to the small and medium businessmen of the leather industry centring the Holy Eid-ul-Azha.

He also drew the attention of the government to remove the existing non-tariff barriers in the export of leather to neighbouring countries including China.