Record decline in raw hide price worries leather traders

The price of sacrificial animal skins has come down to a record low, as goat skins are being sold to a lowly range at Rs100 to Rs150 while cowhides are being sold at Rs600 to Rs700.

On Eid-ul-Adha, leather traders are worried, after the low demand for raw leather in the local and international markets, the prices of leather have come down significantly.

Gulzar Feroze, former president of the Pakistan Tanneries Association, said that the price of cowhide was Rs 1,500 last year, but the rates have since reduced to Rs600 to 700, showing a price decline of 60 percent year on year.

The rates of goatskins have come down from Rs200 to Rs100 while the prices of sheep and camel skins have also come down. The year has seen an increase in collective sacrifice. Leather traders say it is not possible to stem the decline in skin prices without increasing exports.