Leather trade show kicks off tomorrow

A three-day international technology trade show on leather goods, including the machinery, chemicals, accessories and other components needed to make them, will kick off in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Supported by the Bangladesh Tanners Association, Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather-goods  and  Footwear Exporters Association, Bangladesh Paduka Prostutkarak Samity, ASK Trade and Exhibitions Pvt Ltd in association with Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB), the eighth edition of "Leathertech Bangladesh 2022" will be held at the International Convention City Bashundhara.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi is expected to inaugurate the three-day trade show, according to a press release.

Nearly 200 exhibitors from 10 countries with the Council for Leather Exports (CLE) and Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) pavilion from India will participate in the event.

The global market for leathergoods was estimated at $240.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach a revised size of $318.2 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.1 per cent.

However, footwear is projected to record a 4.8 per cent CAGR and reach $116.1 billion by the end of 2027.

The commerce ministry is drawing up a 10-year perspective plan, which includes a target to increase the leather sector's export earnings from below $1 billion to $10-12 billion by 2030.

The government is eyeing an ambitious 10-fold growth in its export earnings from leather and leather goods in the next nine years.

However, in fiscal 2020-21, exports increased by about 18 per cent. The export grew by about 30 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Syed Nasim Manzur, president of LFMEAB, and K Nandagopal, director of ASK Trade and Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, were present at a press conference on the event.