Booming Global Market For Indian Leather Products, Fibre2fashion

Leather is one of the worlds mostly traded commodities. On average, global leather trade is estimated to be around $60 billion for a year, and is predicted by the industry analysts to grow further. Global leather industry is estimated to be around $85 billion USD. Developed countries such as US are the major consumers of leather items, while developing countries constitute a major share of manufacturing leather products.

Indian Leather Industry:

China and Italy are the leading manufacturers and exporters of leather products in the world, with India occupying the third position. In India, leather industry is in a predominant position with substantial export revenue generation, and thereby providing economical growth. The most premium leather products in the world are being made in India, and are much sought after in the global market.

The industry generates employment opportunities for approximately 2.5 million people of which 30% of them are women. The Indian leather industry includes the sub-sectors of tanning and finishing, footwear and its components, leather apparels, goods, and accessories. Almost 60-65% of its production is done through the cottage sector. Indian leather sector is among the top 10 export revenue generators of the country. It uses mostly indigenous resources, and very less of the imported resources. Key production units lie in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, Andhra, and Karnataka. Major markets for Indian leather products are US, UK, Italy, and Germany.

Growth Drivers:

Indian leather industry is one among the top 8 industries for export revenue generation in India, holding 10% of the global raw material, and 2% of the global trade. India enjoys competitive benefits such as availability of abundant raw material, cheap and skilled labor, supporting institutions for industrial developments, and supportive domestic market. A recent survey states that, India has the largest livestock in the world. The country possesses the largest population of buffaloes, goat, and sheep. India also has the worlds largest technically trained manpower in leather craft, which enables it to surpass its competitors in the global market.

Indian Leather Footwear:

India is the biggest livestock producer in the world, with the capacity of 1.8 billion square feet of leather production annually. 13% of the global footwear production comprising of 16 billion pairs are made in India. India is the worlds second largest footwear manufacturer, making 2065 million pairs of various footwear categories. It exports 115 million pairs, thus having 95% of its production to meet its own domestic demand. Leather shoes and uppers are made in the large scale units, while chappals and sandals are made in the cottage sector. US, Germany, Italy, and UK are the major markets for Indian footwear. Many established brands in EU, and US are being exported by Indian manufacturers.

Apart from footwear, other items such as garments, handbags, bags, gloves, wallets, briefcases, upholstery, saddler items, belts, and folios are also made in India, and are being exported; worldwide. The products made, meet the standards and requirements of bulk buyers from Australia, EU, and US.

Indian leather items offer good market potential for entrepreneurs to foray into the German, EU and other worldwide markets. India is an attractive destination for technology and investments relevant for the footwear sector and is posed for growth and diversification.

References: