Having inaugurated a new leather laboratory in Karachi last week, German chemicals company Lanxess has announced plans to open a second facility in the South-East Asian country as the company believes Pakistan’s leather industry is set for continued growth.Commenting on the plans to open a further laboratory, director of Marketing, Asia Pacific, Juergen Hackenbroich said that, "there are good future prospects for Pakistan and other countries in the region as the ‘boom’ in the largest leather manufacturing country in the world—China—is slowing down substantially." He added that the overcapacity that has been created in China in recent years and governmental decisions to tackle pollution has already led to tannery closures across the country. He also stated that the implementation of import duties on raw hides and chemicals will weigh heavily on China’s tanneries, exacerbating the effects of the anti-dumping duties already imposed by the EU on Chinese footwear. Labour, energy and transport costs are also rising in China and prices for raw hides are currently at a record high. Laxness hopes that this will work in favour of countries such as India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Mr Hackenbroich told www.leatherbiz.com that investment for the first laboratory totalled approximately $100,000 and will provide free-of-charge services to members of the leather industry from wet end to finishing.
