Indian Leather & Leather Products Industry : - An address by Mr. Ali Ahmed Khan, ED, CLE.
Introduction
The Leather Industry holds a prominent place in the Indian economy. This sector is known for its consistency in high export earnings and it is among the top ten foreign exchange earners of the country.
With an annual turnover of over US$ 7 billion, the export of leather and leather products increased manifold over the past decades and touched US$ 3.59 billion in 2008-09, recording a cumulative annual growth rate of about 9.58%.
The Leather industry is bestowed with an affluence of raw materials as India is endowed with 21% of world cattle & buffalo and 11% of world goat & sheep production. Added to this are the strengths of skilled manpower, innovative technology, increasing industry compliance to international environmental standards, and the dedicated support of the allied industries.
The leather industry is an employment intensive sector, providing job to about 2.5 million people, mostly from the weaker sections of the society. Women employment is predominant in leather products sector with about 30% share.
Though India is the second largest producer of footwear and leather garments in the world, India accounts for a share of close to 3% in the global leather import trade of US$127 billion (1007).
The major production centers for leather and leather products are located in Tamil Nadau - Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Trichy, Dindigul, West Bangal - Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh - Kanpur, Agra & Noida, Maharashtra- Mumbai, Punjab- Jalandhar, Karnataka - Bangalore; Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad; Haryana - Ambala, Gurgaon, Panchkula and Karnal; Delhi
TANNING INDUSTRY
* Produces about 2 billion Square feet of Leather (10% of world leather requirement).
* Major tanning clusters are Chennai,Ambur, Ranipet, Kolkata, Kanpur, Jalandhar etc
* 2091 tanneries - 45% in Tamil Nadu, 26% in West Bengal, 18% in Uttar Pradesh
* Availability of best tanning technology - Ecosustainable tanning processes
* Strong infrastructure for the leather tanning - Presence of Chemicals and Auxiliaries industry
* Indian colors continuously being selected at the MODEUROPE Congress
FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY
* Second largest footwear producer after China
* Leather Shoes 1009 million pairs
* Exports 115 million pairs (2007-2008)
* Accounts for 11.84$ share of India's total export
* Growing at over 14$ annually.
* Major clusters at Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Kanpur, Agra, Mumbai, Delhi and Karnal
* Large production of Non-Leather Footwear - 1056 million pairs
* Huge domestic retail market
* Out of 2065 pairs of footwear produced in India, 950 million pairs (95%) are sold in domestic market. |
