LAHORE: Prices of the hides and skins of sacrificial animals have further reduced on the second consecutive year, following the decline in leather exports of Pakistan, which directly affected the income of philanthropic institutes that collect hides during Eid-ul-Azha.
Decline in prices will now directly impact their revenue streams and compel them to find new ways to run their institutional affairs. Since the MQM backed out from collecting hides and skins due to the ongoing Karachi operation new players have found it an opportunity to grab their share.
Agha Saidian, former chairman of Pakistan Tanner Association (PTA), said leather exports had declined by 26 percent, which adversely affected the seasonal hides and skins business. “Tanners have their last year stock, while new opportunities of leather exports are not emerging. In such a scenario, raw material rates declined due to the trickle down affect, he said predicting no positive sign in the near future due to non-supportive polices government policies.
Trading of hides and skins at Lahore Hides and Skin Market – the largest market of the country - started with a sluggish trend on the evening of Eid. On the first day of Eid, the opening price of cow/calf hide was Rs1,500 per hide, goat was Rs150 to Rs220 per skin, sheep Rs80 to Rs100 per skin, and camel Rs800 per skin.
However, during the midnight session, a slight increase in the prices was recorded for the bulk sellers, while for small sellers prices remained the same. The closing price of the cow/calf for bulk quantity sellers reached Rs1,650, goat Rs260 per skin, sheep Rs115 per skin, and camel Rs1,000 per hide. The last year average price of cow/calf was Rs1,800 per hide, goat skin remained Rs250 per skin, sheep Rs130 per skin, and camel at Rs800 per hide.
The PTA and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) data collected from the district governments revealed that 12.2 million animals were slaughtered in Pakistan during the three days of Eid-ul-Azha, as compared 7.5 million animals slaughtered last year.
Furthermore, 3.416 million cow/calf, 7.93 million goats, 0.739 million sheep and almost 61,000 to 100,000 camels were slaughtered. Despite the Punjab Livestock Department’s advertised procedure to preserve the hides and skins, there are chances of almost 25 percent damage due to severe weather.
Saidian appreciated the efforts of Nasim Sadiq, Secretary, Punjab Livestock Department, and said that in a short period of time, the awareness messages were published to save the hides and skin. However, almost 25 percent of the hides and skins were still damaged, causing losses worth almost Rs2 billion to the economy. “The industry tentatively bought almost Rs8.6 billion for this season,” he asserted. Increase in slaughtering of sacrificial animals also reflects economic growth, which boosts the purchasing power of public, Saidian believed.
Sheikh Arshad, President, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and former president of Hides and Skins Merchants Association said the industry continued due to face decline due to the turn down in the global demand of leather products. “Especially in the presence of the Chinese low cost synthetic leather, which is giving a tough time to leather products globally,” he said.
He said the trend was changing since the National Action Plan (NAP) and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) were issued by the district management across the country and the government restricted the hides and skins collection to registered organisations only.
This year again, only those who obtained NOCs from DCO offices were allowed to collect the hides and skins. Thus, a number of religious factions and others, who collected hides via camps, were not seen doing their usual business. Though they still collected hides, without the camps, their quantum of collection was affected.