Pakistan Tanners Association former Chairman Agha Saiddain while talking to Business Recorder further revealed that the finished leather fell down by 25.98 percent from 5.939 million square meters in July-October 2015 to 4.396 million square meters in July-October 2015-16. In term of value, it showed a decline of 10.08 percent from $126.209 million to $113.487 million during the same period.
Likewise, the leather gloves exports also registered a decline of 13.44 percent from 1.860 million dozens to 1.610 million dozens and in monetary term, it fell down by 15.22 percent from $66.936 million to $56.745 million during the period under review, he said.
However, the export of leather apparel and clothing also showed negative trend and slightly declined from 295,000 dozen to 287,000 dozens denoting a fall of 2.71 percent while in term of value it was decreased from $111.444 million to $107.147 million showing a loss of 3.86 percent, he said.
On the contrary, Agha Saiddain said the export of leather footwear registered a gain of 17.04 percent from 1,696 million pairs to 1.985 million pairs whereas in term value it moved up from $24.662 million to $26.937 showing a gain of 9.22 percent during the same period. He said the leather industry contributes five percent of export earnings of the country and 2.67 percent of the manufacturing GDP. Leather industry was an employment intensive providing jobs to more than million people mostly to weaker section of the society, he added.
He said the regional countries including Bangladesh, India and China had shown 309 percent, 67.79 percent and 55.49 percent growth, respectively, in the leather sector exports during the period of 2007-8 to 2015-16 against Pakistan whose exports were squeezed by 19.59 percent.
He was of the view that the regional countries exports outperformed mainly because of the attractive incentives provided by their respective governments while "we are striving to run our units amid unfavourable environment due to higher input cost, high power tariff, power & gas loadshedding and diminishing population of animals as well."
He said the hide and skins were generally damaged due to lack of proper training of the butchers, adding that 33 percent of hides and skins were damaged due to a number of reasons. "Pakistan can earn addition amount of $310 million per annum if these factors are controlled and mechanised slaughter houses set-up in the countries."
"Our country is facing serious trade deficit of $23.96 billion by the end of financial year 2015-2016. The leather industry has a potential to grow into $2 billion industry if hides and skins are improved and footwear parks are set up in the country including Lahore," Agha Saiddain added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017