Covid-19 outbreak is remarkably hitting India’s leather tanning industry. In fact, health emergency has been affecting, at this point, all the regions of the big Asian country. Therefore, such outbreak has overshadowed, to some extent, the difficult situation Uttar Pradesh companies have been dealing with. In several tanneries, located in the State of Bengal, warehouses are full, and things have been going on like that for a few weeks. At the same time, one of the most important exporters of bovine hides, based in the region of Andhra Pradesh, has been going through a relevant downturn in sales.
Covid-19 deeply hits India’s tanning
The outbreak of Covid-19, which has spread around, has brought Bengal’s exports of hides to a standstill. In fact, international companies, which used to import hides and skins from about 400 tanneries, based in the Calcutta Leather Complex, have just suspended their orders. As reported by telegraphindia.com, exports have been collapsing all of a sudden: on top of that, tanneries have to cope with a shortage of raw material, serving the manufacturing of leather products, mostly imported from China. Production has been supposedly decreasing by 30 to 35%. “While we were gradually recovering from 2016 currency devaluation, Coronavirus outbreak has been one more blow for us”, remarked Zia Nafis, from Nafis Tanning Industries, while speaking to the Indian daily newspaper. For instance, in her warehouse there are still 12 tons of leather, formerly processed. “An Italian importer had previously made a few orders – she pointed out –. They asked me to put them off now, since nobody is going out, in their city, because of Coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, delivery shipments are going to stay here for 20 days”.
Downturn in sales is alarming in Andhra Pradesh
In the meantime, another serious blow has been allegedly hitting the Andhra Pradesh Tanneries as well. The company, headquartered in the district of Nellimarla, is currently listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Most of all, they specialize in the tanning of buffalo and cow hides. As reported by business-standard.com, in 2019 last quarter the company’s revenues supposedly dropped by 200,000 rupees, twice as much compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Picture taken from Wikipedia
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