By Muhammad Asad Tahir Bhawana ISLAMABAD, March 24 (INP-WealthPK): In July-January 2021-2022, the value of Pakistan's exports of leather products was $552.758 million compared to the previous year’s exports of $488.511 million, with a positive change of 13.15%. According to a report released by the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), the upsurge in exports shows that the industry is improving. During the first five months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan's exports of leather products witnessed an increase of 11.03 percent to $266.595 million as compared to the same period of the previous year when the exports were $240.100 million. The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows that, among the leather products, the exports of garments made by leather increased by 10.42 percent, rising to $139.100 million during the first 5 months of FY2022 as compared to the same period of the previous year when the exports stood at $125.971 million. Moreover, the exports of gloves rose to $119.516 million from the previous year’s exports of $106.890 million. The exports of leather products from Pakistan increased by 21.13 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, and 13.15 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis during the current fiscal year 2022. The following table shows the current year's exports data compared to the previous year with different commodities of leather. Exports of leather and leather products from Pakistan (Value: US dollar in thousands)

Commodities	July- January 2020-2021		July-January 2021-2022
	Qty	Value	Qty	Value
Leather	5,765	84,938	8,551	112,775
Leather Apparel and Clothing	678	177,893	1,106	195,185
Leather Gloves	3,297	152,738	6,475	164,854
Leather Footwear	4473	63,120	4,212	68,734
Other Leather Manufactures		9,822		11,210
Total		488,511		552,758

(Source Pakistan Bureau of Statistics)

Note: Export figures for January 2022 are provisional.

The 7th Pakistan mega leather show was organized by the PTA from January 28-30, 2022 at Expo Centre Lahore. Amanullah Aftab, Chairman of the PTA, said that they organize this show every year to boost the leather industry of Pakistan. He said they organized this show with the help of the footwear association, leather garments, and tannery industries of Pakistan. There were more than 200 stalls, and more than 50,000 people visited the show. The manufacturers related to the leather industry said that these events will boost the contribution of this industry to the exports which ultimately lead to the rise in national income. Shahid Iqbal, a manufacturer, said that Pakistan's business improved in this industry and will prove lucrative in the future. According to a report titled "Enhancing the Competitiveness of Pakistan's Leather Garment Industry," prepared by Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PLGMEA), Pakistan's leather industry is the second-largest export industry after textile. It contributed around 5.6 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan during 2020-2021. Pakistan has a huge potential in producing and exporting leather and leather manufactured products. Currently, Pakistan utilizes only 50 percent of its tanning capacity and 50 percent still needs a proper focus. Pakistan needs to address different problems to fully utilize this industry, such as the lack of skilled labor, advanced machinery, and lack of supporting industries. To overcome all these problems, Pakistan needs to focus on specific training programs related to this sector. Also, a joint venture with other countries like China can prove profitable. Moreover, Pakistan must focus on lowering the cost of doing business so that the products made in Pakistan can compete in the international market.