The Pakistan leather and garments industry is hoping that it largest ever turnout at next month’s APLF will go some way towards offsetting the effects of the Iraq war, which have already begun to disrupt trade in Pakistan.
A total of 49 leather and leather garment producers from Pakistan will be present at the Hong Kong show and all of them will be looking to salvage something from the current mid-March to mid-April buying season, which has been badly hit by foreign buyers avoiding the region.
The gravity of the situation was underlined last week by the chairman of the Pakistan Leather Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PLGMEA) Fawad Ejaz Khan. He warned that if the war lasts beyond the end of this month then the long term prospects for the industry are likely to be further harmed, as buyers turn to suppliers in countries such as India and China.
Even before the war, the Pakistan leather trade was having an extremely hard time. Compared with the year before, the country’s exports of leather garments were down 38% between July-February 2002-2003, and 46% down on the two-year previous figure, the main factors being the international tensions in the wake of September 11 2001 and the border conflict with India. This was in spite of the major push made by the industry to improve its styles and quality levels and increase its profile on the international trade show circuit.
