Leather and leather products, including footwear, has registered a growth of 32.5% in the year 2021-22, as their export increased to 4.9 billion US dollars (USD) from 3 billion USD, said Sanjay Leela, chairman of the council for leather exports.
The export to the United States has registered an unprecedented growth of 78.5%, increasing from 128.49 million USD to 228.40 million USD in April-May 2022, he said.
“European markets have also shown good growth of 44.6%. Exports have increased from 317.04 million USD to 458.61 million USD in April and May 2022. Other markets in countries like Canada and UAE were also growing this year,” he said.
He said the signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the UAE and India-Australia economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) have opened new opportunities as import duty exemptions have been provided for leather, leather products and footwear.
He asserted that the export to Europe would also significantly increase as trade negotiations were on concerning the trade agreements.
With these agreements and the support of the government, the industry would be able to sustain export growth in the remaining months of the year, he said, adding that the industry was confident that it was surpassing the export target of 5.54 billion USD, set for 2022-23 by the department of commerce and crossing the export value of 6 billion USD for the first time.
{{/usCountry}}With these agreements and the support of the government, the industry would be able to sustain export growth in the remaining months of the year, he said, adding that the industry was confident that it was surpassing the export target of 5.54 billion USD, set for 2022-23 by the department of commerce and crossing the export value of 6 billion USD for the first time.
{{/usCountry}}The sector is aiming to reach a 10 billion USD export value by 2025, Leekha said.