New Delhi: The country's leather and footwear exports are expected cross $6 billion (about Rs 44,800 crore) in 2022-23 on account of increasing demand in the US and new markets such as Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Sanjay Leekha said.
Leekha said implementation of recently signed free trade agreement between India and the UAE would also help in pushing the exports further besides creating employment in the sector.
During April-January this fiscal, leather and leather products exports rose by 33 per cent to $3.6 billion. The exports stood at $3.3 billion in 2020-21 and $4.7 billion in 2019-20.
"We are getting good response from the US and that too from big brands. We are also looking to record healthy growth in Latin America, the Middle east, and Europe. In this backdrop, we are confident that we would cross $6 billion in 2022-23," Leekha said.
He added that the order books are healthy and the industry is upbeat about recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the industry is labour-intensive, providing employment to 45 lakh people.
"The sector has the potential to reach a total turnover of $30 billion in next five years, which includes the domestic turnover of $20 billion and export turnover of $10 billion and generate additional employment for 15 lakh more people," he added.
The industry is also urging the government to extend the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme to the sector.