This was revealed in a study conducted by two associations of the leather sector published recently.

According to the study, there is no mechanised slaughterhouse in Bangladesh. Only 12 to 15 per cent of the slaughters take place in semi-mechanised abattoirs. The rest of slaughtering including the ones that take place during the Eid ul Azha festival are done by unskilled personnel outside slaughterhouses, the study added.

About 35 to 40 per cent of the total slaughters in Bangladesh are done during the Eid ul Azha.

Slaughtering by unskilled people in manual way results in irregular shape and knife cuts in hide, which reduce value of the leather. Hides and skins are collected from remote areas which takes longer time to reach tannery for processing, the study said.

Crude salt used for preservation causes damage to the raw stocks, the study conducted by Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) and Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) said.

Of the 206 tanneries in Bangladesh, 112 units have facilities for processing wet blue leather only. The rest unit can produce crust and finished leather for export.

The tanning sub-sector has capacity to process more than 400 million square feet of wet blue leather, 300 million square feet crust leather and 130 million square feet of finished leather per year, the study titled "Inventory of Leather Sector Industries of Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects" noted.

Harun Chowdhury, chairman of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), told The Daily Star yesterday that the 186 tanneries in Hazaribagh area have a capacity to process 94 per cent of the total supply of hides and skins of Bangladesh but during the peak season of Eid ul Azha large portion go damaged due to incorrect flaying and preserving method.

He said many mechanised tanning industries cannot utilise full capacity due to fund shortage. The capacity utilisation of the mechanised tanning industries varies from zero per cent to as high as 90 per cent which shows weakness of the industry.

He said weak financial condition, high bank interest rate and want of government support are the main problems of the tanning industry.

Use of raw salt, non-application of scientific method and unskilled workers cause damage to preserving and processing of leather, Harun Chowdhury, also proprietor of Helena Enterprise Ltd, a tannery, said.

For improvement of the situation, he urged the government to provide working capital loan for smooth operation of running and sick industries. He also called for establishing machanised abattoirs at thana and district levels for scientific slaughtering and flaying to reduce post-mortem defects in hides and skins.

The annual supply of hides and skins is about 187 million square feet of which 64 per cent are cowhides, 31.82 per cent goatskins, 2.25 per cent buffalo hides and 1.10 per cent sheepskins. Hides and skins of Bangladesh are thinner in substance and smaller in size but they have good reputation in international market because of their fine fiber and solid grains, the study mentioned.

The export earnings from leather sector were $290 million in 2000-2001.