Despite slowdown in European economies, leather exports from India are likely to register a growth of 13 per cent and touch $5.4 billion by 2014 from the current level of $3.8 billion, according to an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) study.
The leather industry currently employs over three million workers. “With a strategy in place, the number of potential employees can rise by another 3 million in the next five years,” said Assocham.
India has a 3.5 per cent share in the global leather trade with the composition of exports changing, with more focus on value added products.
The major markets for Indian leather products are Germany with a share of 14.34 per cent followed by the UK (12.80 per cent) and Italy (11.52 per cent).
Export of different categories of footwear alone holds a major share of 45.05 per cent in India's total leather products exports, with an export value of $1732.04 million.
Among the categories which registered maximum growth in the last fiscal are leather footwear (37.98 per cent), leather goods (21.19 per cent), and finished leather (21.09 per cent).