BE Magazine

INDUSTRY
Monthly business magazine
31
INDUSTRY
Leather Industry:
BIG OPPORTUNITY AHEAD
g Shariful Hassan
The leather industry, which is the secondlargest
exporter after RMG, has a high
potential for expansion and upgrading.
Leather from Bangladesh is well reputed
for its good quality. Leather goods and
footwear factories in Bangladesh are increasingly
establishing their competence to meet the high
demands of foreign buyers.
In FY2017, the leather industry accounted for
3.5% of Bangladesh’s annual exports worth US$1.2
billion. By volume, Bangladesh occupies about 3.0%
of the world’s leather and leather products market.
Although Bangladesh exports high-quality raw
leather and some of the leather articles and finished
products are also of good quality, our leather industry
accounts for only 0.6% of the global export market
and less than 1.0% of gross value added in domestic
manufacturing. The industry’s contribution to gross
domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 0.35%. The
leather industry employs over 850,000 workers,
directly and indirectly.
December, 2019
Monthly business magazine