In a Press Statement he stressed that the government should also encourage the vendors of the Leather Industry including Slaughter Houses, Collection Centers, Tanneries and others to reorganize themselves according to latest LWG Standards and provide them with incentives for implementing the LWG Standards before time to save the leather industry from collapse, which would be a fatal below to exports.
The SCCI President further stated that international market requirements, quality, environment and social standards are changing rapidly, which demand tractability and transparency of the full supply chain of the leather products being manufactured in Pakistan for complying with the new international quality standards being introduced by REACH and Leather Working Group (LWG). Pakistan's tanners, leather goods manufacturers and exporters have to acquire latest technology and ensure that the products conform to international quality requirements in order to compete in the international markets in coming years he said.
Majid said that with the introduction of new standards by REACH and Leather Working Group (LWG), it is now being made mandatory for any business involved in leather products to ensure that necessary compliance is made right from the start of value chain which seems impossible to implement given the present scenario of our country.
While expressing his concerns he said that failure to comply with such standards by 2020 would result in a major blow to the exports of leather industry of Pakistan as all of the market share would be lost to the competitors who are in the process of equipping their leather industry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017