Pakistan’s leather industry exported leather products worth $800 million in 2004-2005 and volumes are likely to pass the $1 billion mark by the end of this financial year, according to chairman of the Pakistan Tanners’ Association (PTA) Northern Zone, Khurshid Alam. This equates to a 19% increase compared with the same period last year.

The leather industry is the second largest export industry in the country, and contributes 7% of the country’s total exports and 5% of the GDP.

Pakistan’s main export markets currently are the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, China, South Africa, France, South Korea, Japan, and the Netherlands.