Leather industry in Pakistan continues to decline

Chairman Pakistan Tanners Association says the growth rate in Pakistan is declining by 3.94 percent

More than 5.7 million animals with an approximate value of Rs120 billion were sacrificed this Eidul Azha in Pakistan, but Syed Saydin says these numbers have not affected the local market positively.

Though Pakistani leather is considered to be the second best in the world, the chairman of Pakistan Tanners Association says the growth rate for the country continues to decline.

“In India, the growth rate is 22.68 percent, 20.7 percent in China and 17.51 percent in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, the growth rate in Pakistan is declining by 3.94 percent,” he says.

The association says hides obtained from animals sacrificed this year have an estimated value of Rs7 billion.

Leather from all over the country is brought to Lahore, the location for Pakistan’s biggest market for the product.

Khawaja Sajjad, the market’s general secretary, says the population boom has divided resources between a greater number of people.

“The material has not increased. Someone who would sacrifice a goat earlier, now only gets a share in the cow, so total resources remain the same,” he said.

Due to lack of production facilities for value-added goods, leather is usually sold to other countries in raw form, where it is processed into finished goods and sold at high prices.

However, if investment is made in industrial infrastructure, a lot of this revenue can be retained by Pakistan.