Bangladesh’s earnings from leather exports fell 6.06 per cent this fiscal year. This comprises leather, leather goods and leather footwear, Of the total earnings from the leather sector, earnings from leather products were down by 26.58 per cent. Earnings from processed leather exports declined 10 per cent against the same period a year ago. However, exports earning from leather footwear posted a 7.48 per cent growth.

The leather sector is Bangladesh’s second largest earner of foreign currency after the readymade garment sector. The sector is not yet seen as compliant and environment-friendly and that is holding back foreign buyers. Plans for a central effluent treatment plant are yet to be executed. The Leather Working Group (LWG) certification, which makes it easier to sell goods to global buyers, is hard to obtain due to the absence of a fully operational central effluent treatment plant. Lack of proper compliance, especially in environmental issues, means that Bangladeshi manufacturers are not getting the certificate from the LWG, which assesses environmental compliance and performance capabilities of leather manufacturers. As a result, export earnings from the sector saw a downtrend. Also, consumers are shifting to non-leather shoes — another reason for the fall in earnings of overall exports from the leather sector.