The Government of Bangladesh has identified the leather sector as one with considerable growth and investment potential. The entire leather sector meets only less than 1% of the world’s leather trade. The leather sector is, after the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) sector, the second-largest contributor to Bangladesh exports. Bangladesh boasts significant livestock and leather production.

Leather from Bangladesh is considered to be of good quality, and leather goods and footwear factories are increasingly able to meet the high demands of western brands, although leather quality consistency remains a challenge due to a lack of investment in modern technology. Growth in recent years has been slow but steady with the exception of 2015-2016, during which period the Bangladeshi leather industry suffered a general setback that in some cases reduced production to 50% of its capacity. This setback was caused by a worldwide reduction in demand for leather goods and footwear, whereas the demand for leather car seats – not produced in Bangladesh – continued to increase. Although setbacks occur periodically, experts suggest that there is substantial room for further expansion of the sector, with the government of Bangladesh providing significant financial incentives for investors in this sector.

These developments may provide new or increased opportunities, and in particular for Dutch companies that supply raw materials, chemicals, safety equipment, machines, clean tech solutions and design, among other things. The research performed for this business scan suggests that there are also opportunities for the agro and food safety sectors upstream of the leather value chain.

In Bangladesh, there is an immense scope in Leather Industry as the export demand of Leather products from Bangladesh is quite high. Any company with current and latest Technology can succeed in Bangladesh as this will give an edge for the latest technology.