They said improved law and order situation has helped them avoid extortion while procuring hides during the Eid-ul-Azha.

Around 45 percent of the total raw materials for the tannery industry is collected during the Eid-ul-Azha season. Hoodlums, extortionists and hide smugglers do a brisk business after the Eid every year.

The tanners said the law enforcement agencies this year took all-out measures to check smuggling of hides of sacrificial animals which were sold at prices 15 to 20 percent lower than those of last year.

"Eid-ul-Azha is our peak season to procure hides and we suffer lot of problems every year. But it was an exception this year as we did not face any muscleman while procuring the hides," said a top leader of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Exporters Association (BFLLEA).

He said export income from leather sector may rise by around Tk 100 crore to Tk 150 crore as the tanners and exporters were able to buy a huge number of hides.

"So far we don't have any news about hide and skin smuggling. The procurement of hides of the sacrificial animals is satisfactory," Harun Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Tanners' Association (BTA) told The Daily Star yesterday.

Tanners and BFLLEA this year fixed the purchasing prices of hides before the Eid, which helped them to keep the prices lower. As the law enforcement agencies were active, muscleman could not make money, according to traders.

"We had no option but to keep the hide prices low as the cost of chemicals and salt required for processing would be much higher this year," the BFLLEA leader said.

According to sources, the prices of leather processing chemicals rose by 25 percent on the international market while salt price in local market rose this year to more than Tk 400 per maund from Tk 300 last year.

According to Bangladesh Hide and Skin Merchants Association (BHSMA), prices of hides of sacrificial animals were 15 to 20 percent less than those of last year.

A piece of hide of a big cattlehead sold between Tk 1,300 and Tk 1,800 this year, medium sized ones between Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,300 and small ones between Tk 800 and Tk 1,000, according to BHSMA.

On the other hand, hides of goat were sold between Tk 200 and Tk 250.

However, the tanners said prices of hides were more or less the same this year. They are purchasing hides of a big cattlehead between Tk 2100 and Tk 2200, medium ones between Tk 1300 and Tk 1400 while small ones between Tk 600 and Tk 700.