The export earnings from the leather and leather goods increased by 10.19 per cent to $1.14 billion in the recently concluded financial year 2024-25, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.
The leather sector, one of the major industries after the readymade garment sector, earned $1.03 billion in FY24.
However, despite the domestic supply of raw materials, the leather export earning has been hovering around $1 billion for the last several years.
In FY23, the sector earned $1.17 billion, compared with $1.24 billion in FY22 and $1.03 billion in FY21, as stated in the EPB data.
In FY25, the country earned $48.28 billion from exporting goods, 8.58 per cent higher than the $44.46 billion in FY24, while the earnings from the leather sector accounted for approximately 2.36 per cent of the total export earnings.
Speaking to 抖阴精品, Md Nasir Khan, vice-president of the Leather goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said that due to a lack of governmental policy support, the leather sector had been unable to break out of the聽$1 billion cycle for decades.聽
鈥榃e don鈥檛 have any unified policy and incentive facilities for all export-oriented sectors. Despite having domestic supply of raw materials and high-quality products, leather sector is lagging years after years,鈥� he added.
Sometimes it seemed that policymakers didn鈥檛 want the sector to export more, as it didn鈥檛 receive sufficient policy support, he added, saying that even the central effluent treatment plant was under-capacity and non-functional, which reflected their聽reluctance.
鈥楾o diversify products, government must remove the discrimination between RMG sector and all other export-oriented sectors. The government must introduce unified policy, bond facilities and other incentives,鈥� he added.
He also stated that the leather sector has the capacity to earn $10 billion, as it can add value of up to 90 per cent, thanks to its raw materials. However, the government destroyed this opportunity by transferring the industry to Savar without proper establishment and the required CETP.
He also said that the same principle applies to market diversification 鈥� if the government wants, it can also diversify Bangladesh鈥檚 market.
For almost three decades, Apex Footwear Limited has been in the shoe exporting business, with a footprint in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan.
Omar Faruk, company secretary of Apex Footwear Limited, told 抖阴精品 that like the overall leather goods sector, they also face some global and internal challenges, including dollar issues and other domestic challenges.
He also said that the recently declared 35 per cent tariff on Bangladeshi exports of goods would further impact the sector.
The businesses also stated that, despite having significant export potential, the leather sector has faced stagnation primarily due to persistent compliance issues.
Global buyers are refraining from importing leather goods from Bangladesh, as the country鈥檚 leather industry continues to fall short of meeting compliance requirements, including obtaining a Leather Working Group certificate.
Talking to 抖阴精品, M Masrur Reaz, chairman of the Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said that the country didn鈥檛 utilise its capacity and potential.
鈥楾he authority didn鈥檛 strengthen the seamless connections among different value chains like rawhide collecting, processing, finishing and backward linkage,鈥� he added.
He also stated that a significant number of companies in the sector lacked standard certificates, such as LWG, which deterred foreign buyers from importing.
鈥楧espite the potential of reaching $10 billion export annually, we don鈥檛 have integrated planning, especially on infrastructure, finance, skill, and attracting foreign investment,鈥� he added.聽聽
The businesses and experts also suggested some key factors, including investing in the environment, product diversification, developing skilled workforces, and sufficient governmental support.
They also urged manufacturers to ensure supply chain traceability, invest in branding and marketing, and continue to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies.