Germany largest buyer of Indian leather products

Friday, 21 May 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Germany has emerged as the largest buyer of Indian leather products, including shoes, leather garments and horse riding equipment, said an industry statement Friday. During 2003, India exported leather products worth $265 million to Germany. This was almost 15 percent of India's total leather exports, said the Indo-German Export Promotion Project (IGEP). According to IGEP, banking on low price and excellent quality, Indian leather products have become very popular in Germany and other European countries. IGEP Director D. Kebschull said as per estimates, the German market alone needed 400 million pairs of shoes annually while India exported about 10 million pairs of men's shoes only. "The areas of a huge demand for children and ladies' shoes are yet to be tapped by Indian exporters," he added. "As the majority of leather garments and footwear production in India is in the small scale sector, their production standards, technology and marketing skills require sustainable upgradation for both domestic and export products." The major products being exported to Germany from India include complete shoes, sandals, shoe components, uppers, leather garments, handbags, travel ware and horse riding equipment.
Source: IANS