PTA demands government help
The Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) is calling on the government for help as competition from other nations continues to grow.
As the nation’s second largest export-oriented sector, PTA chairman, Agha Saiddain, is calling for new incentives to be introduced. “The governments of China, India and Bangladesh have introduced new incentives to save their leather industries,” he says. “In these circumstances, Pakistan is losing its market share and tanneries are running on 50% capacity.”
He says that not only is the sector is facing stiff competition from these countries, but that it is at a disadvantage because the government has fixed its National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) at a much higher level than those imposed in some other countries.
According to the PTA, finished leather exports fell 17.7% between July and December 2008 to $163.9 million compared with $199.1 million for the same period in the previous year.
Leather garment exports fell 16.5% during the six-month period, while the sector’s total exports—including leather, leather garments, footwear, gloves and leathergoods fell 12% to $526.4 million compared with $600.8 million for the same period of 2006-07.
