A series of meetings and visits were organised in India to help tanners and manufacturers from Pakistan improve exports of leather and leather goods have taken place. Led by the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) under the Pakistan Leather Competitiveness Improvement Programme, in collaboration with India’s Council for Leather Exports (CLE), a delegation comprised of ten representatives from Pakistan took part on a business visit to India on February 1-7, 2016. The delegation was comprised of Gulzar Firoz, PTA’s Chairman, and his predecessor, Muhammad Mussaddiq, representatives of the Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Association, Pakistan Glove Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Commerce Ministry officials. The aims of the visit included to have a deeper insight of the tools used by the CLE and the initiatives provided by the Indian government. The delegation also participated at the recent International Footwear Congress and visited the India International Leather Fair in Chennai. During the last edition of the Pakistan Mega Leather Show on January 27-29, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce announced the creation of a Leather Export Promotion Council, following demands from Pakistan’s tanners. However, some industry representatives remain sceptical as the government had already made a similar announcement in Strategic Trade Policy Framework back in 2012, promising to create a similar organisation in other sectors should it prove to be successful.
