The country’s tanners have sought cash incentives for the tannery industry in an attempt to revive the sector during the current transition period, officials said. Shahin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), a platform of local tanners, made an appeal to the finance ministry on July 30 last asking for cash incentives, they added. The finance minister directed the officials concerned to raise the issue at a meeting on revision of the rates of cash incentives/subsidy on export for several export-oriented sectors in the current fiscal year (FY). The meeting will be held on August 08, the officials said. Currently, cash incentives from the government for the exporters are badly needed to achieve the export target, sources concerned said. The country’s leather and leather goods exporters faced a huge loss due to global recession and continuous devaluation of euro, industry insiders said. The industry owners have also been facing severe financial crisis due to drop in orders from international buyers recently, they said. Besides, it is quite tough to survive in the competitive market, they mentioned, saying that tanners need cash incentives for different leather goods in the current fiscal year (FY). The government has set an export target of $ 1.5 billion for the leather sector in the FY 2016-17. The tanners are making efforts to achieve the export target for the next fiscal year despite relocation of their tanneries to Savar, sources concerned said. Presently, the leather sector is the second largest export earner of the country. About 65,000 skilled and unskilled labourers are engaged with the industry, they said. Crust and finished leathers are exported by the country’s 220 leather industries after production and processing, they mentioned. Leather units are being shifted to Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka city from Hazaribagh. Tannery owners have invested Tk 12 billion in relocation of their factories, according to BTA. “We hope that relocation of the factories from Hazaribagh to Savar will be completed shortly,” a factory owner said. Despite repeated attempts over phone, BTA president Shahin Ahmed could not be reached for his comments in this regard.
