Photo : Messenger
Exports of Bangladesh’s leather and leather goods fell by 16.68 percent in eight months from July to February of the fiscal year 2023-24.
Data shows that leather and leather goods exports stood as follows: in July: $98.74 million, in August: $96.082 million, in September: $72.67 million, in October: $59.57 million, in November: $99.96 million, in December: $96.01 million, in January: $105.03 million, and in February: $84.68 million as the month contains 29 days.
The sector had set a target for the 2024 FY leather and leather goods export at $1.35 billion. Exporters targeted to export $10 billion by 2030. “Though the world markets are unstable, the export of leather and leather goods is falling continuously. But during a couple of months, exports have slightly increased, especially in the largest markets in the EU.
However, as of February, exports recorded less than January,” Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director of Apex Footwear Ltd, told the Daily Messenger. He said: “The potential sector needs the policy support of the government. If the sector receives a subsidy, it might grow like RMG. Additionally, Nasim wants a climate fund in the backward linkage sectors.
He thinks that if the government provides a 50 percent tax exemption on exports in March, exports will increase.” “We cannot ensure a water treatment plant for all the tanneries. If the government takes steps to provide financial support, the sector will boost the economy,” Belal Hossain, former president of the Leather goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB), told The Daily Messenger.
In the last couple of years, about 40 percent of the companies out of 155 have stopped exporting due to complaint issues, according to LFMEAB. Moreover, there is no policy on rawhide collection. The government has yet to provide the required facilities in the newly shifted Savar tannery. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that as the world economy gradually stabilizes, exports are increasing in all sectors. “I think in the second half of the current fiscal year, exports will increase more.”
Meanwhile, the export of leather and leather goods reached $1,245.18 million in the 2022-23 FY, which was $941.67 million in the 2021-22 FY, and $1,093 million in the 2020-21 FY. Industry insiders think that if export growth follows the trend, it will reach $1.5 billion by the end of the fiscal year.Bangladesh has 2 percent of the world’s total livestock population. It can meet 1 percent of the world market's leather demand.
The most promising markets for Bangladeshi leather, leather goods, and footwear products are Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Japan, China, the UK, Singapore, Poland, the US, Canada, and Taiwan, etc. Previously, exports depended on wet blue leather, which is made by separating the fur from the skin and preserving it with salt. However, if raw leather can be further processed to produce finished goods, it can add up to 90 percent value to leather goods.
Messenger/Fameema
