Bangladesh has offered the leather sector various incentives to boost exports earnings. More investment will be attracted from home and abroad for the country’s second highest export earning sector. Investors in the leather sector who adopt green technology in factories will be provided with low-cost loans. Cash incentives will be given if they set up environment-friendly industries.

Presently, Bangladesh has around 165 footwear and leather factories and they could bring in bigger export receipts were they compliant and using modern technologies. There are about 60 companies in Bangladesh which export footwear and leather goods. The destinations are mainly Japan, Europe and the US to some extent. Bangladesh produces 400 million sq ft of finished leather annually. But the country can use only 30 per cent of its finished leather. The remaining 70 per cent is exported, mostly to China. Bangladesh can earn three times more from exports of leather goods if all the finished leather produced locally is utilised. Finished leather exports fetch less than a third of a footwear item.

The country has raw leather but has to import almost all the other raw materials. By law, imports have to be done in phases and so it takes time to produce the finished goods and export.