Industry on the point of port solution
12/09/2008
The problems the Indian leather sector has faced this year in importing raw hides through the port of Chennai are close to a lasting solution, the president of the country's Council for Leather Exports has told leatherbiz.
The president of the body, which seeks to promote Indian leather exports, Mukhtarul Amin, said on the opening day of the GDS exhibition in Dusseldorf that raw hides had been moving through the port without difficulty in recent weeks after the government of the state of Tamil Nadu granted a temporary exemption to hides and skins importers from showing customs officials certificates to prove the hides came from regions of the world that are free from diseases such as foot and mouth disease.
Mr Amin said: "That temporary extension will remain in place until September 30, and the procedure we will put in place after that will be a very simple one. This only applies to raw hides and skins; there are no problems with wet blue or crust material. But the health of our citizens is the most important thing and we will not allow hides that could be contaminated to enter India."
He made it clear that customs officials at the port would apply the restrictions to hides coming from any part of a country that is currently affected.
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