The leather industry has been struggling to attract new investment due to the absence of product variety. Besides, the penetration of artificial leather, high prices of leather products, the US–China trade war and lack of vigilance of the tannery estate is hurting the growth of this sector, say industry insiders. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the sector registered a negative growth rate of 6.06 per cent, resulting in earnings of USD 1.01 billion in FY2018-19. This figure was USD 1.08 billion during the same period in FY2017-18. Bangladesh Tanners’ Association chairman Shaheen Ahmed told The Independent that the demand for leather products has gone down in the global market due to the sluggish economic conditions of the biggest importers of leather products. He said Bangladesh exports leather products to South Korea, China, and the European Union, among others, and most clients in these countries have started using artificial leather products for reasons of affordability. Since 2013, leather prices have gone up in the global market, forcing renowned leather manufacturers to produce artificial leather products to address the global demand, he explained. “Because of the continuous negative growth for a long period, we are losing foreign as well as local investment,” he added. “China used to take raw hides from us to make raw materials through further processing. The US government has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on a number of Chinese products, including leather goods, entering the US market. Eventually, this affected us badly and China stopped taking raw hides from us,” he said. He said the leather sector is not getting the advantage of the central effluent treatment plant (CETP). “A Chinese contractor was given the responsibility and work order to build the CETP and dumping yard at the Savar tannery complex. But the work hasn’t been completed yet,” he added. A sub-power station with a 10MW generation capacity was built in the Savar tannery complex, he said. In the project area, the construction works of administrative buildings and fire brigade stations have been completed. Also, drains, deep tube wells, water delivery pipelines, culverts, electricity lines and gas lines have been already been laid. “So, the situation will change soon. We can see positive growth if the CETP is ready and fully functional,” said Shaheen Ahmed. Only leather footwear registered a slight positive growth rate of 7.48 per cent, resulting in earnings of USD 607.88 million. This figure was USD 565.60 million during the same period in FY2017-18.
