In the fiscal year, 2015-2016 foreign indian leather turnover totalled $ 5.8 billion (5.4 billion euro). It means that in a year the value of exports of shoes, gloves, accessories and Indian leather fell by 9.9%. The decline in exports of finished leather, however, totalled a – 3.4% according to the CLE (India’s Council for Leather Export), who tries to find possible positive interpretations. The first comes from the domestic market. Even counting the goods sold in India, the Indian leather business is 12 billion dollars (11.1 billion euro). And the growth of domestic demand, in quantity and quality, can become a resource for the Indian leather. The CLE claims that in the next year New Delhi will sell 5 billion pairs of shoes, with a requirement of 3.71 pairs per capita, an increase compared to 2.2 last year. The entrepreneurs admitted that the drop in business has to do with the bad reputation that the local manufacturer has regarding sustainability. In mid-February the CLE scheduled meetings with delegations from 20 African governments and the Russian one to evaluate the opening of new markets. No fears to the new wave of protectionism claimed by Trump. According to RK Jalan, President CLE for Northern India, “in the US there are more factories, but there is a lack of staff to make them work.” Less confident, however, are the local operators that are still afflicted by the consequences of demonetization. According to Sauer Report, in the drums, they are still working at 20-25% of capacity Kanpur district, while only the 4-5 biggest companies have resumed activities.
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