Bangladesh working on dedicated authority to manage leather sector

A draft of the ‘Bangladesh Leather Industry Management Authority Act 2024’ released by the ministry of industries recently aims at overseeing and fostering the growth of this sector.

Feedback from stakeholders will be taken into consideration before finalising the law.

Leather industry players have been demanding a separate such entity under the Prime Minister's Office to reduce export dependence on the readymade garments sector and diversify the export basket.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced the formation of such an authority on October 12 last year while inaugurating the Bangladesh Leather Footwear and Leather Goods International Sourcing Show (BLISS 2023).

The proposed authority, headquartered in the Savar Leather Industrial Zone, will comprise a chairman and three members. It will operate under an eight-member board, with the chairman of the Leather Industry Management Authority serving as the member secretary, according to domestic media reports.

Other members will include the chairman of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, representatives from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the ministry of commerce, the director of the Leather Engineering and Technology Institute at Dhaka University, the president of the Bangladesh Tanners Association and the president of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association.

Hasina has also instructed that the leather and jute industries receive incentives similar to those granted to the readymade garments sector.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)