FTAs to help boost leather, footwear exports to $14 Bn by 2030: CLE
PTI
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) finalized by India will create significant opportunities for the leather goods and footwear sector, helping boost exports to $14 billion by 2030, according to the Council for Leather Exports (CLE).
Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Ramesh Kumar Juneja stated that trade agreements with the UAE, Oman, Mauritius, Australia, and the EFTA (comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have already aided domestic exporters.
Consequently, the sector has recorded positive export growth across several key markets, including the UAE, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, Russia, and Japan.
Looking ahead, Juneja emphasized that upcoming pacts will be critical. "The FTAs with regions such as the European Union, UK, and New Zealand will define the next chapter of growth for the industry," he said.
"Our industry aims to make optimum use of these emerging opportunities and reach an export target of $14 billion by 2030, as part of an overall industry turnover target of $50 billion."
The Chairman added that the industry is also eagerly awaiting a trade pact with the US, India's largest export destination. A successful conclusion of an India-US agreement will secure crucial preferential access for the sector over competing nations.
"These FTAs now place the sector on an equal or better footing than our global competitors," Juneja said. "Our industry's own five-year plan is to generate employment for an additional 2.2 million people while reaching the total turnover of $50 billion by 2030."
To capitalize on these agreements, Juneja outlined that the Council will pursue a comprehensive action plan. This includes:
An aggressive marketing strategy overseas.
Deeper tie-ups with international leather and footwear industry associations.
Strengthening the domestic supply chain.
Active efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from large global companies.
Organizing large-scale exhibitions.
India's leather and footwear exports stood at $4.75 billion in the last fiscal year. Out of this, Tamil Nadu alone accounted for $1.59 billion—nearly 37% of the country's total sectoral exports. Notably, women make up over 40% of the industry's workforce in the state.
