Banks have given loans of 160 crore taka to tanneries to buy leather

Ahead of Eid al-Adha, tannery owners in the country have set a target of collecting about 7.5 to 8 million pieces of animal skins. Out of this, they plan to buy about 80 percent of the skins directly from the Dhaka market.

Meanwhile, several state-owned and private banks have given loans of about 160 crore taka to the tannery sector to buy leather. However, traders claim that this loan is not sufficient compared to their needs.

According to bank sources, many traders have not received new loan facilities due to defaulted loans. As a result, it has not been possible to disburse the entire loan as per the set target.

Among the loan disbursements, Sonali Bank has approved 25 crore taka to one tannery, Agrani Bank has approved 75 crore taka to two tanneries, and Janata Bank has approved 60 crore taka. Out of this, some of the money from Janata Bank has already been released. On the other hand, two customers of Rupali Bank did not get the loan as they did not fulfill the conditions.

Tannery owners said that the industry has been going through various problems for a long time. Many companies are under financial pressure due to environmental complications and increased production costs after the shift from Hazaribagh to Hemayetpur in Savar.

According to them, the price of raw hides may decrease by 300 to 400 taka per piece compared to last year due to increased salt, labor and transportation costs.

However, the concerned parties said that they will try to buy quality hides at the price fixed by the government.