Media reports indicate that India’s leather industry, which currently exports goods worth around $2.7 billion, is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with demand, particularly in relation to the burgeoning leather footwear sector.

A need to increase tannery capacities and to convert dry process to wet process units has been recognised if exports are to rise to the forecast $7 billion by 2010.

It was hoped that 500,000 extra jobs would be created but this is proving problematical as the labour shortage continues and vital training in leather production is still lacking.