China’s State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) has announced that the export volume for the country’s leather industry increased 19% to $23.2 billion in 2003.

The vice director of SDRC’s economic operation department, Niu Jianguo, said the leather industry is at the top of China’s light industry, accounting for 20.5% of total export volume.

According to the commission, there are 16,000 major leather enterprises in China, each with an annual sales volume exceeding $605,000.  The country produced nearly 500 million square metres of leather and around 6 billion pairs of shoes in 2003 and has the largest pig- and sheepskin resources in the world.

Mr Jianguo however raised concerns over problems that are plaguing the industry, such as under-investment, the lack of internationally recognised brands and cut-throat competition amongst manufacturers.

Share this story: