Help urgently needed, says PTA
Chairman of the Pakistan Tanners’ Association, Gulzar Firoz, has appealed to the country’s President, Asif Zardari, Prime Minister, Syed Gillani, and commerce minister, Makhdoom Fahim, for urgent help.
Mr Firoz believes the leather industry is in a state of crisis and needs bailing out. He points out that leather exports for the first seven months of the fiscal year (July 2009 to January 2010) were down 22% year-on-year to $491.1 million from $629.2 million during the same period a year earlier.
He describes the situation as “alarming” and says immediate relief is needed to avoid the complete collapse of the industry. The first step, according to Mr Firoz, is for government officials to meet with representatives from the leather industry to discuss possible incentives.
He predicts leather exports for the year will total $850 million, down 15% year-on-year and around 35% compared with the 2007-08 figure.
