Turkmenistan and Tajikistan could well be explored to overcome the issue of raw material availability in the leather industry in India. Turkmenistan with animal population of 9.23 million and Tajikistan with overall livestock population of 6 million heads, should be tapped for sourcing raw skins and hides by the Indian leather product manufacturers, say experts.
According to the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), over the last five years, India’s export of leather and leather products has been growing and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Given the demand for leather products and the export opportunities in the international arena, the requirement of raw hides and skins is going to grow significantly. The demand for the raw material cannot be met by domestic supply. Already, raw material from other nations are imported to meet the demand and quality requirement of certain export markets. The percentage of import of raw material is not very significant. It is less than 10%. Already during the year, CLE had planned for leather sourcing delegation to visit some important CIS countries.
