India International Leather Fair begins in Kolkata

The fair will be open for general visitors only on Sunday.

Speaking during the inaugural session, Reinhold Krieki, Vice Consul General of Germany said, the leather industry holds a prominent place in the Indian economy. It is among the top 10 industries for export revenue generation in India. With an annual turnover of over US$ 11 billion, Germany tops the list of export destination for Indian leather and leather goods with the share of more than 15%.

Damiano Francovigh, Consul General of Italy in Kolkata said, the city is the hub for leather goods in India and Indian products have very good demand abroad.

Speaking on the occasion, Ramesh Kumar Juneja, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports (Eastern Region) said, India’s leather industry has witnessed robust growth, transforming from a mere raw material supplier to a value-added product exporter. Today, almost 50% of India’s leather business originates from international trade. The major markets for Indian leather products are Germany, the US, the UK, Italy, France, Hong Kong, Spain, the Netherlands and UAE.

Juneja also highlighted that export of leather and leather products for the period of April-December 2015 touched US$ 4457.36 million. Out of this, total leather goods export stands at 23.52% Indian export and 58% of this is exported out of West Bengal, he added.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India has adopted cluster development approach as key strategy for enhancing the productivity, competitiveness and capacity of micro and small scale enterprises.