Shortage in processing chemicals in Bangladesh

Sources say that tanners collected about 2.5 million pieces of raw hides during the Eid. The industry earned more than $400 million through exports in fiscal year 2006-7 and fetched more than $260 million in the first half of the current fiscal year. ‘We were more than happy with the collection of raw hides this Eid, but all efforts are likely to go in vain', said Tipu Sultan, president of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association. He said situation has been worsened as the only supplier of sulfate - Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) - are not currently providing sufficient quantities to meet the requirement of the factories. The BCIC allocated only 143 tonnes of ammonium sulfate during the past month against a demand of 1,800 tonnes, Sultan ( also managing director of Bengal Leather) said. A senior BCIC official said another 150 tonnes of sulfate will be allocated shortly for the factories. Abdul Hye, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), said many of the 162 factory owners fear they might face substantial losses due to decomposition of raw hides if the chemical is not provided soon. An official at the Export Promotion Bureau said the government had set an export earning target for the leather sector of $473 million in the current fiscal year against$412 million last year. Source: The Financial Express