Although the traditional system of disposing carcasses to the traditional flayers by farmers has been undergoing changes, it was estimated that even in the mid-ass, 55% of carcasses were being disposed to the traditional flayer on the average all over the entry Flaying takes place as a dispersed and sporadic catchy in rural areas, as well as In dispersed units and slaughterhouses In semi-urban and urban centers that are linked to markets for raw hides and skins.
Traditionally, flaying of dead animals was an integrated part of the rural leather industry, where the flayer was very often a tanner and cobbler as well. Today, very little of tanning or product making takes place in rural areas, but the activities of carcass collection and flaying are still linked o customary obligations and to caste and as a result, those engaged in this activity are part of a large informal workforce that earn very little from the catchy.
In addition, there are several problems that arise at various stages In raw material collection and processing. To quote only some examples, the tools and methods of flaying used by both traditional flayers in villages as well as by butchers in slaughter houses are primitive in general and affect the quality of the tanned hide that is produced. Methods of curing are also traditional and this is another factor that affects the qua lilt of the raw material.
The raw hides and skins that are flayed undergo preliminary processing or curing such as salting to preserve them and are mostly transported to raw hide and skin markets all over the country. Where also several defects can occur. Some raw hides and skins are consumed at the local village level by tanners and cobblers for making traditional leather and footwear but even they have to source cost of their raw material from outside at high prices because the development of the urban clusters has led to the outflow of raw material from the rural to the urban areas.
Collection and trade In raw hides and skins Is controlled heavily by middlemen and traders who take advantage of caste factors In giving very low prices to flayers. With the growth of the urban clusters, most of the raw hides and skins produced are channeled into the market chain that leads to the urban clusters. One of the most important links in the chain between the flayer and the tanner is the away material dealer, w ho organizes collection, curing, storing, grading, packing and ultimately the transportation of raw hides and skins to the urban centers.
These dealers lend advances to the primary producers and at the same time deliver the raw material on credit to the tanners. They thus maintain strong backward and forward linkages in the process of raw material management and many of the large groups that operate in the industry today come from families of raw material dealers who have been able to grow due to their control over this crucial segment of the reduction chain.
