CHENNAI: Leather manufacturers and exporters in Tamil Nadu, which produces 38 per cent of the country’s footwear and leather products, are jubilant over Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement to exempt Wet Blue leather from basic customs duty and exemption of crust leather from 20% export duty to facilitate exports by small tanners.
Wet Blue leather is a type of leather that is tanned using chromium salts and is known for flexibility, durability and resistance. It is often used to make footwear, leather goods and furniture upholstery. Crust leather refers to rawhide that's tanned, but not yet dyed.
R. Selvam, Executive Director, Council for Leather Exports said that the the exemption of basic custom duties on Wet Blue leather reduction of 20pc export duty on crust leather will benefit the exports immensely. "It will increase the exports from Rs 3000 crore to Rs 8,000 crore," he said and the state is likely to get nearly 40 per cent of the share.
Israr Ahmed, who is director of Farida Prime Tannery said that it would benefit the Tamil Nadu leather manufacturers immensely. However, leather exporters are keenly waiting for more details on the focus product scheme, which was announced by the Finance Minister for enhancing the productivity, quality and competitiveness of India’s footwear and leather sector.
The scheme will support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for the production of non-leather quality footwear, besides the support for leather footwear and products. The scheme is expected to facilitate employment for 22 lakh persons, generate a turnover of Rs 4 lakh crore and exports of over Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
Tamil Nadu has emerged as the go-to destination for global footwear manufacturing giants like Nike, Puma, Adidas and many many more. The focus is now on developing non-leather footwear hubs like Ranipet and Perambalur.