The country’s leather industry has been struggling hard due to compliance issues which have become a major concern in attracting foreign buyers from major world markets.Due to lack of compliance issues in most of the tanneries and leather factories at Savar Leather Estate, Bangladeshi leather and leather goods exporters are not being able to tap market opportunities till now.Owing to the fact, export earnings from this potential sector has been declining during the last couple of years. According to industry insiders, leather and leather goods from Bangladesh owns less than 0.25 percent of the US$250 billion world market.Many manufacturers and exporters at Savar Leather Estate said that they are not getting international Certificate of Compliance from forum like Leather Working Group (LWG), a global platform made up of brands, retailers, leather manufacturers, suppliers and technical expert, to enter in the high end market.Though they are craved to get the global compliance certificate, partial function of Central Effluent Treatment Plan (CETP) at Savar has become a major barrier towards this direction, said industry insiders.Abdul Kader, Managing Director of Amin Tannery Ltd at Savar said that they will apply for LWG certificate soon after completion of the CETP and some other small issues.Talking to daily sun, Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) president Mohiuddin Mahin said due to the compliance issue, Bangladeshi exporters are not getting high end market buyers.Bangladeshi leather product makers hardly get big customers as they are not placing any order to Bangladeshi makers, showing compliance cause, said BFLLFEA president.“Bangladeshi exporters survive depending on the small and some mid-range buyers. Once our factories become fully compliant in line with the international standard, it would add value and get big buyers in big markets”, said Mahin.General Secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) Shakhawat Ullah said that they have shifted their tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar only for become compliant so that they can explore the potential worldwide.Though more than one year has elapsed, CETP yet to become functional and due to that problem, tanners are not getting compliance certificate from the leather working group which hampering the total export.Echoing the same with Shakhawat Ullah, BFLLFEA president also added that CETP is a big concern right now while factories in BSCIC areas should also be made compliant. Urging the government to make compliant of the factories at Savar Leather Estate and under in BSCIC , Mahin said that Bangladesh only fetches less than 0.25 percent of the total market and exporters have huge opportunity to take more shares.Bangladesh’s export earnings from leather suffered a huge drop of over 12 percent in the last fiscal year.The leather sector, the second largest export earner after apparel products, contributed $1.08 billion of the total national exports of $36.66 billion in fiscal year 2017-18.According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, however, Bangladesh earned $1.23 billion from the sector in the FY 2016-17. In 2015-16 fiscal, Bangladesh earned $1.16 billion from this sector while it was $1.13 billion in 2014-15 fiscal. It may mention that currently, 220 tanneries, 2500 footwear manufacturing units and 90 large firms are involved in the leather and leather goods sector. This sector is contributing around four percent to the country’s total export earnings by exporting items to more than 50 countries.
