India’s exports of leather and footwear in the last fiscal year were 0.85 per cent lower than the previous year’s. This is the third year in the last five years when the growth rate of leather and footwear industry has fallen. One reason is falling demand for leather in the apparel and footwear industries of Europe and China. Another reason is the downward trend of using leather made apparels in the fashion industry. Also synthetic footwear has emerged as an alternative to leather products. Due to awareness about global warming and better scope of designs in synthetic products, many countries, including China, have aggressively changed their preferences from leather to synthetic.

However, exports of footwear can still find hope as the demand for footwear, the value-added product of leather, is still prominent. Indian leather industry has many competitive advantages as the country has an abundant source of raw materials.

Leather is among the top ten foreign exchange earners for the country. Around 12.9 per cent of the world’s leather production of hides and skins, and nine per cent of the global footwear production, takes place in India. Twenty per cent of the world’s cattle and buffalo, and 11 per cent of the world’s goat and sheep population, are found in India.