COLOMBO : Millions of people around the world work to produce leather garments, footwear and accessories. The leather-based garments, footwear and accessories value chain is complex, with many different actors involved – from farmers to slaughterhouses to leather tanners; from finishers to traders; from producers of leather components to producers of leather goods; and from buying agents to brands and retailers.
The leather goods industry of Pakistan comprises many different products such as apparel, footwear, bags, trunks, sporting goods, leather upholstery, and so on. The different categories of value chains in leather industry have the following product groups: leather (inlcuding semi-finished and finished leather); leather garments (jackets, trousers, gloves, and so on) and leather footwear. Pakistan produces leather made of cow, buffalo, sheep and goat skins. These animals are mostly kept by small-scale herders for meat production. After these animals are slaughtered, the hides and skins are transported to tanneries for further processing into leather. According to the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), there are around 800 tanneries in Pakistan. Many leather companies are vertically integrated companies that carry out the process of tanning as well as the the production of leather clothing and apparel. Leather apparel factories are primarily based in Karachi and Sialkot. Production of leather footwear mainly takes place in the state of Punjab (in and around the cities of Sialkot and Lahore), but there is also a production hub in the greater Karachi area. According to the PTA, the Pakistan leather and leather goods industry is 95 per cent export-oriented. Pakistan was the world’s fifth exporter of leather apparel, after Italy, China, India and France. A particular niche in the sector is the production of leather gloves, including safety gloves, sporting gloves (e.g. boxing) and motor gloves, generating more than half of export revenues of the overarching product group of leather apparel. Pakistan is a key supplier of leather apparel to the European market, with an export value of US$ 316 million.
