Global slowdown does not dim prospects of Intl Leather Fair

03 Feb '09

2 min read

The economic turmoil and the resultant slowdown might have affected most sectors globally, but the huge exhibitor turnout, totaling to 390 at the India International Leather Fair in Chennai, might prove most skeptics wrong, which has furthered the prospects of India as a leather manufacturing and sourcing hub.

The fair has been organised jointly by the Council for Leather Exports and India Trade Promotion Organization. Speaking at a lecture on “Options for leather industry in times of recession”, the Regional Chairman of the Council of Leather Exports, Mr Sait said that, “We have factored in a 10-15 percent fall in leather exports in the coming months.”

Mr Sait added by saying that, tanneries in and around Chennai, Kanpur, West Bengal had been affected the most as they were mainly dependent on the US markets which has borne the worst brunt of the recessionary trends.

He further said that, the priority of the US $3.5 billion Indian leather export sector was to retain its edge in the existing global markets and not loose those markets to the $25 billion Chinese leather export industry, on the pricing front.

Exports from the leather industry recorded a growth of 20 percent in the first two quarters of fiscal 2008-09, over the same comparable period of the previous fiscal year, but exports slipped drastically in the third quarter of the current fiscal, as much as 33 percent month-on-month, after the unfolding of the economic crisis.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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