The leather sector needs special care for a rebound due to its facing huge difficulties to compete in the global market, experts opined. Since shifting of the tannery industry from the city’s Hazaribagh area to Savar, the country’s leather sector is facing serious difficulties especially for lack of a central effluent treatment plant (CETP) and water treatment plant which has pushed many tanneries into a risky zone, they said.
They added, many leather companies are failing to fulfil buyers’ demand, causing a constant fall in export earnings and driving the buyers away. The export earnings from this sector stood at $771.69 million during July-March in fiscal 2019, which was 9.08 percent lower than that in the same period of the previous fiscal. During the last nine months in FY18, the figure was $848.79 million.
The current FY 19, the target from this sector was 1.12 billion. Even export of leather and leather goods has significantly decreased by almost 12 percent to $1.08 billion in fiscal 2017-2018, against that in the previous fiscal. The government has set an export earning target of $5 billion by 2021, which is now impossible without any special step from the government, economists said.
Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) President Shaheen Khan told this correspondent “We are still facing various problems including ETP not functioning as yet at our new place.” He said, the government should take immediate action to solve this problem to attract foreign buyers in order to inject more funds into the sector. “It will be difficult to earn $5 billion by 2021 by exporting leather goods,” he said.
Md Shakawat Ullah, general secretary of BTA, told Bangladesh Post that the government has taken various initiatives to boost the leather sector, which is a very potential item after readymade garments. Although the export earnings from leather and leather goods have decreased significantly, it will come back to a positive growth soon through government’s several steps, he mentioned.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB), told Bangladesh Post that the country is mainly dependent on Chinese market for leather exports which pushed export earnings down in this sector because China has faced different trade barriers with the United States.
He said, the country now is capable of making the best quality products at low prices, which will help enhance export earnings by diversifying the market globally. Industries Minister, Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said ‘we will officially hand over to businessmen soon, the huge potential leather industry in Savar.’ After shifting the tannery industry from Hazaribagh, we solved many problems especially waste management problem, he said adding that we will modernize this sector to expand its leather markets.