Karachi: Artificial leather has significantly decreased the value of sacrificial animal skins.
According to a report, ten years ago, a single cow skin was sold for 4,000 rupees, while in 2024, the price of cow skin in Karachi is set between 1,000 to 1,100 rupees. The price for goat skin is 450 rupees, sheep skin is 150 rupees, and camel skin is 500 rupees. In Punjab, the price for cow skin is set between 1,800 to 2,000 rupees.
People involved in the leather industry state that the main reason for the decline in the prices of sacrificial animal skins is the ease of producing artificial leather using the latest technologies. Artificial leather is available on a large scale from many countries, including China.
Not only is it easy to make leather and various other products from fiber and other materials using machines, but the cost of production is also reduced significantly due to mass production. As a result, the number of people preferring and using artificial leather has rapidly increased worldwide over the past few years.
The trend of making leather from animal skins is quickly diminishing. A primary reason for this is the advent of artificial leather, and it is an undeniable fact that the process of making leather from skins is complex, expensive, and polluting. Genuine leather is very costly, so the number of people using it is decreasing rapidly. Tanneries that produce leather from skins are also declining. The process of making leather from skins is labor-intensive and costly, leading to a decrease in the number of such factories.
On the other hand, Farooq Ahmed, Vice Chairman of the All Pakistan Leather Goods Association, stated in a conversation with TNT and Jasarat that this year, skins worth 1 to 1.5 billion rupees were collected in Karachi during Eid al-Adha.
Farooq Ahmed mentioned that approximately 450,000 to 500,000 cow skins were collected in Karachi over three days of Eid al-Adha, and around 750,000 to 800,000 goat skins were gathered this year. The price for cow skin this year was set between 1,000 to 1,100 rupees.
He also noted that the season has been good for tanneries. Due to the high temperatures, there is a risk of skin spoiling. Workers salting the skins appeared happy, earning 30,000 to 40,000 rupees over the three days of Eid.
Farooq Ahmed further emphasized that skins worth 1 to 1.5 billion rupees were collected in Karachi, urging the government to reconsider electricity and gas prices to protect Karachi’s leather industry.
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