Industries minister for countrywide network to collect, preserve rawhides
A countrywide network should be established for the collection and preservation of rawhide for the improvement of the country's leather industry, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun has said.
He also called for necessary enhancement of the skill base for the improvement of the industry.
The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a workshop, "Potentials and Challenges of the Leather Sector in Bangladesh: Points to Ponder", organised under the Support to Sustainable Graduation Project (SSGP) of the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
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The workshop was organised to identify the potentials and challenges of the leather sector and to discuss the strategies and way forwards to utilise the full potentials of the sector.
Chairing the event, ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan stressed necessary policy formulation to prepare the leather sector for the country's post-LDC graduation scenario.
Md Saiful Islam, president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka, as special guest, called for establishing an effective linkage between the RMG industry and the leather goods and footwear sector.
Additional Secretary of ERD and Project Director of SSGP, Farid Aziz said that it is high time to fully operationalise the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) of the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate to attain the LWG certification.
Shamimul Haque, additional secretary of the industries ministry, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, director of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology of Dhaka University, Jainal Abedin, chief executive officer of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leathergoods and Footwear Exporters' Association and Shakawat Ullah, general secretary of Bangladesh Tanners Association, spoke during the event as panelists.
They put emphasis on properly operationalising the CETP of the tannery estate, strengthening the backward linkage industries and proper preservation of rawhides from the grassroots level.
Leather sector expert Rabiul Islam Rabi, in his keynote presentation, opined that effective operationalisation of the Leather Development Authority under the Prime Minister's Office would give a big boost to expedite reform measures.
He also observed that at least 15 to 20 leather factories in the country need to be prepared for Leather Working Group certification within the next five years.
Leather was the highest export earning sector of the country after readymade garments during the last fiscal year.
"Currently, leather and leather products exported from Bangladesh enjoy Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) market access in various countries. The sector is also benefiting from various government supports, including cash incentives. However, after the country's graduation in 2026, most of the international support measures, including DFQF market access, would be terminated while the government supports provided to the sector might be restricted," said an ERD press release.
