Trade Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin has called on clerics of Qawmi Madrasas to play a responsible role in ensuring proper collection, preservation and distribution of sacrificial animal skins.
He said this as the chief guest in a meeting with clerics of Qawmi Madrasas on the proper management of sacrificial animal skins at the Jamia Madania Baridhara Madrasa premises in Dhaka on Sunday (June 1, 2025) night.
At the meeting, the trade advisor said, “Sacrificial animal skins are an important national resource. If they are collected properly and supplied to the tannery industry, it is possible to make a huge contribution to the country’s economy. For this, religious leaders, local administration and all concerned must work together.”
He added, “Scholars and scholars have influence in society, so if public awareness is increased with their cooperation, spoilage of skin can be prevented.”
The trade Adviser said, after the sacrifice, many of us get busy with meat. We don’t keep track of the skin. It may be lying in a dirty place. Since it is a perishable item, the skin spoils quickly. Spoiled skin has no value. Therefore, all those who will perform the sacrifice and collect the skin should be careful about this.
He said, the Chinese Commerce Minister is visiting Bangladesh. Many business representatives have come with him. We have talked to them about raw skin or blue weight. Maybe many more will come. As you know, we have already suspended the order banning the export of skin for three months. So that the export of raw skin is possible. He said, I don’t want raw skin to be exported from this country, but if we don’t get the right price, we will have to go in that direction.
Three and a half percent of the world’s total skin is produced in Bangladesh. This is a great blessing from Allah. But we have wasted this blessing. He mentioned that many are responsible for the degradation of our leather in the international market.
Stating that an attempt has never been made to preserve the skin of the sacrificial animal before, he said that this is the first time that an initiative has been taken to preserve it, so there will be some problems. It will smell on the first day, if you clean it well and add salt, the smell will be reduced. The skin can be preserved for three months with salt. We have to be firm in our decision not to sell the skin if we do not get the right price. To ensure the right price of the skin, the skins must be cleaned in the right process.
The trade Adviser said that we have purchased seven and a half lakh manats of salt from salt farmers to salt the skin. This salt will be distributed free of cost to madrasas and orphanages to preserve the skin. The salt farmers have benefited to some extent from this.
The Adviser said that leather was one of the economic projections of the country after the war of independence. Besides, jute and tea were also the big projections. Every one of our industries has been destroyed. It has reached such a stage that when the price of a cow was 25 thousand taka, the price of the skin was 2 thousand taka. Now the price of that cow is 1 lakh taka but the price of the skin is 200 taka, which is a completely unusual situation.
According to Islamic Sharia, you cannot sell the skin but you can use it. It is the right of the one to whom I gave it (the orphans). It is sad but true that its economic value has been lost, he said.
Stating that about 10 to 12 million cows are sacrificed across the country, the advisor said that the amount of revenue generated from this is about 5 thousand crore taka by simple calculation. The lessee of the market earns 5 thousand crore taka in just five days. The price of the skin that will be produced here will be around 500 crore taka if it is higher. Millions of people are entitled to this 500 crore taka. And the rightful owners of 5 thousand crore taka are 100 to 500 people at most. We are not worried about the revenue of 5 thousand taka, but we are very worried about 500 crore taka. He said that this year, due to lack of time, the rightful owners of the skins could not be made entitled to the benefits. I hope that when the political government comes to power, they will do this work.
It is worth noting that although a huge amount of animal skins are collected every year during Qurbani, a large part of it is wasted due to mismanagement and lack of awareness. This time, the government has taken special steps to involve religious leaders in solving this problem.
The exchange of views was chaired by Muhtamim of Jamia Madania Baridhara Madrasa, Mufti Monir Hossain Qasemi.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka District Md. Shamim Hossain, Muhtamim of Khilgaon Madrasa, Maulana Zahurul Islam, Muhtamim of Dakshingaon Sabujbagh Madrasa, Maulana Sabbir Ahmed, Mufti Jaber Qasemi, Mufti Abdul Malek, etc. spoke at the exchange of views.
Scholars from various Islamic educational institutions in Dhaka were present at this exchange of views organized by the Ministry of Commerce.
