Write a short note on leather industry in india

Leather is one of the most widely traded commodities globally. The growth in demand for leather is driven by the fashion industry, especially footwear. Apart from this, furniture and interior design industries, as well as the automotive industry also demand leather. The leather industry has a place of prominence in the Indian economy due to substantial export earnings and growth.

The Indian leather industry accounts for around 12.93 per cent of the world’s leather production of hides/skins. The country ranks second in terms of footwear and leather garments production in the world and accounts for 9.57 per cent of the world’s footwear production.

Export highlights
India’s leather industry has grown drastically, transforming from a mere raw material supplier to a value-added product exporter.

Total leather and leather good exports from India stood at US$ 1.42 billion during April-June 2017 as against $1.43 billion in the corresponding quarter of last year.
During Apr-Jun 2017, the major markets for Indian leather products were US (14.66 per cent), Germany (11.22 per cent), UK (10.05 per cent), Italy (7.03 per cent), Spain (4.63 per cent), France (5.15per cent), Hong Kong (4.52 per cent), UAE (5.04 per cent), China (3.09 per cent), Netherlands (3.05 per cent), Poland (2.23 per cent) and Vietnam 1.88 (per cent).
At 47.54 per cent, footwear (leather and non-leather) and footwear components accounted for the lion’s share of leather exports in April-June 2017, followed by leather goods and accessories with 23.34 per cent share, finished leather with 16.77 per cent share, leather garments with 9.79 per cent share and saddlery & harness with 2.56 per cent share.
Per capita footwear consumption in India is expected to increase up to four pairs, while domestic footwear consumption is expected to reach up to five billion pairs by 2020.