The country’s leather industry hit a snag. Export earnings from this sector dropped 12 per cent in the last fiscal year. The leather sector which is the second largest export earner after apparel products, contributed $1.08 billion to the total national exports of $36.66 billion in fiscal year 2017-18. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh earned $1.23 billion from the sector in the FY 2016-17, $1.16 billion in 2015-16 and $1.13 billion in 2014-15 fiscal. The facts and figures show that export earnings from this sector was growing steadily in the previous couple of years but dropped dramatically last year. Experts attributed the reason to lack of high-tech machineries in leather and footwear industries. They pointed out that while China is employing sixth generation technologies in leather industry, Bangladesh is still using third generation technology. The global market for leather and leather goods is huge and the prospect of Bangladesh becoming one of the major exporting countries is immense. According to industry insiders, leather and leather goods from Bangladesh owns less than 0.25 per cent of $250 billion world market. Our leather industry can boast of having a local supply line of raw materials, a fully integrated production chain and a large pool of cheap labour. The primary raw materials of the leather industry are cowhides and goatskins. Besides, skins of Black Bengal goats enjoy an excellent reputation for quality. But the worrying thing is: a sizeable portion of country’s total raw hide production is wasted because of an archaic method of relying only on salt to preserve rawhide. At times it is reported that when the price of salt goes high, they apply less salt and as a result a large portion of rawhide gets spoiled. This is all but one example of how the sector is suffering due to lack of modern technologies. In today’s competitive market, global players are always striving for latest technology to produce goods more efficiently and in competitive ways to make their products more attractive and fashionable. If we are to become globally competitive, we too must adapt to global trends.
