PLGMEA demands 20% duty on finished and semi-finished leather
A meeting of the Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers & Exports Association (PLGMEA) in Karachi ended with a message strongly urging the government to slap a 20% export duty on semi finished (natural and dyed crust) and finished leather.
Chairman of the PLGMEA, Mr. Fawad Ijaz Khan, said that exports of leather garments in February, 2002, showed a 45% decline over the same period in 2001. From October 2001 to February there was a 27% fall in leather garment exports, while at the same time exports of semi-finished and finished leather from Pakistan increased by 3%.
The argument put forward by the PLGMEA is that garment manufacturers deserve the same protection as tanners, who already benefit from a 20% export duty on raw hides, skins and wet-blue. Mr Fawad said that the leather garment industry could utilise all the raw leather which is currently being exported for garment production. He claimed that the value added could be as much as 30% if the policy were implemented.
The PLGMEA chairman also argued that an export duty could foster economic development and investment in the manufacture of footwear, upholstery and leather goods. Mr Fawad warned that if the government did not take steps to help the leather garment industry, the results would mean the closure of several factories and problems of unemployment.
