Value addition helps leather sector ride through storm
11 Aug '09
1 min read
In the fiscal year 2008-09, exports of leather footwear rose to US $186.93 million when compared with $169.60 in the previous fiscal while shipments of accessories like leather bags and purses also nearly doubled to $16.89 million.
These astounding growth figures have been achieved against a backdrop of the recessionary trends prevailing in the key global markets which has led to a negative growth in exports of leather and leather goods from most countries.
Experts attribute these growth figures to the shifting of focus of leather manufacturers to producing value added products and developing their own expertise, which has helped them ride the economic storm successfully.
The global recessionary trends led to a dip in shipments of finished leather. This prompted the leather manufactures to shift to producing finished products and helped them face the impact of the crisis to a very great extent.
The number of companies who have opted for manufacture and exports of value added leather products has jumped by nearly 40 percent from that a year ago.