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Bengal

Leather industry eyes loss of Rs 5-6 cr as COVID-19 scare escalates

Kolkata: Leather industry in the city would receive a major jolt in view of the panic over COVID-19, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks.

The market leaders are apprehending a loss of around Rs 5 to 6 crore if export and import with foreign countries does not normalise within the next one month.

Raw materials including sodium sulphide that is commonly called China sodium is imported from China. It has completely stopped leading to the scarcity of the same in the local markets. It is required to dye raw leather and the entire process of leather goods manufacturing would get affected if dye of raw leather cannot be undertaken.

According to a leather tannery owner, they do not have a large quantity of raw material at present and they are not aware when it will become possible to import it from China. Their work would also come to a standstill if there is no sufficient supply of sodium sulphide. "Despite all odds, we are trying our level best to ensure that we can continue our work," the manufacturer said.

Bantala Leather Complex in Kolkata is Asia's biggest leather industry and it shares a major part of the country's total export of leather goods.

Italy is a major market for leather goods that gets exported from India. "The situation in Italy is not favourable to export leather goods and no one knows when everything will get back to its place," said a leather goods manufacturer adding that the same also get exported to countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Spain and France. The situation has turned worse with uncertainty over transportation of goods to neighbouring countries as well. "We have nothing in our hand apart from waiting for the situation to improve," the manufacturer said.

The Mamata Banerjee government has taken up a series of steps to ensure the development of Bantala Leather Complex. With steps taken by her government, business in the leather complex has gone up manifold. Now, the traders are trying to get some way out to ensure that the growth sustains.

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