Prices of hides increase with those of livestock
Leather industry claims 20% reduction in supply of raw materials.
KARACHI:
An increase in livestock prices this year ahead of Eidul Azha has also led to an increase in the price of animal hides.
Prices of goats have jumped by upto 50 per cent and those of cows and bulls have risen by upto 30 per cent on average, compared with last year. Due to this increase, the price of raw leather has also surged.
According to Gulzar Feroz, the former chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association, there has been a reduction of 20 per cent in the supply of raw material for tanners. He said that usually hides worth Rs8-9 billion are procured by the industry during Eidul Azha and hides from six million goats and sheep and 2.5-3 million cows and bulls were obtained last year.
Last year, the average price of a goat’s hide was Rs250-270 and the average price of a medium-sized cow’s hide was Rs2,000. However, hide prices have increased to Rs370 and Rs3,000 for goats and cows, respectively.
He said that the sacrifice of cows and bulls has registered a 10 per cent increase this year due to the increase in the price of goats and as a result the industry is expected to receive 3-3.5 million cow and bull hides this year.
Hides serve as an important input for the leather industry and around 25 per cent of the raw material is procured after Eid.
Floods and unchecked smuggling of animals to Afghanistan have been highlighted as the cause of the increase in price. The leather industry has, therefore, said that a ban on livestock exports to curb smuggling is inevitable.
According to exporters, leather exports may reach up to a billion dollars if the security situation and smuggling of livestock is addressed.
Feroz added that the most damage to the industry is done by novice butchers who can reduce the value of a hide by 75 per cent with a single wrong cut. He also mentioned that hides procured at this time of the year are of the best quality since animals are well cared for in the weeks leading up to Eidul Azha.
Published in The Express Tribune November 17th, 2010.
An increase in livestock prices this year ahead of Eidul Azha has also led to an increase in the price of animal hides.
Prices of goats have jumped by upto 50 per cent and those of cows and bulls have risen by upto 30 per cent on average, compared with last year. Due to this increase, the price of raw leather has also surged.
According to Gulzar Feroz, the former chairman of the Pakistan Tanners Association, there has been a reduction of 20 per cent in the supply of raw material for tanners. He said that usually hides worth Rs8-9 billion are procured by the industry during Eidul Azha and hides from six million goats and sheep and 2.5-3 million cows and bulls were obtained last year.
Last year, the average price of a goat’s hide was Rs250-270 and the average price of a medium-sized cow’s hide was Rs2,000. However, hide prices have increased to Rs370 and Rs3,000 for goats and cows, respectively.
He said that the sacrifice of cows and bulls has registered a 10 per cent increase this year due to the increase in the price of goats and as a result the industry is expected to receive 3-3.5 million cow and bull hides this year.
Hides serve as an important input for the leather industry and around 25 per cent of the raw material is procured after Eid.
Floods and unchecked smuggling of animals to Afghanistan have been highlighted as the cause of the increase in price. The leather industry has, therefore, said that a ban on livestock exports to curb smuggling is inevitable.
According to exporters, leather exports may reach up to a billion dollars if the security situation and smuggling of livestock is addressed.
Feroz added that the most damage to the industry is done by novice butchers who can reduce the value of a hide by 75 per cent with a single wrong cut. He also mentioned that hides procured at this time of the year are of the best quality since animals are well cared for in the weeks leading up to Eidul Azha.
Published in The Express Tribune November 17th, 2010.