The Leather Industry in MUMBAI

The leather industry occupies a place of prominence in the Indian economy in view of its massive potential for employment, growth and exports. In India, it is not only spread over organised sector, but also in the unorganised sector. The small scale cottage and artisan sectors account over 75% of the total production. Though traditionally and in the beginning, the Indian leather industry has been an exporter of tanned hides and skins, in the early seventies itself, it set its sights on becoming a major player in the leather products segments. Leather Industry has been identified as one of the thrust areas of exports. The Leather and Leather Products industry in India employs the large number of work force from weaker sections of the society. Women employment is predominant in leather products sector with about 30% share of the total work force. Over the years the Indian Leather Industry has undergone drastic change from being a mere exporter of raw materials in the early 60's and 70's to an exporter of finished, value-added leather products. The main reason behind this good transformation is the several policy initiatives taken by the government. Indian proactive government initiatives have yielded quick and improved results. Today the Indian leather industry has attained a prominent place in the Indian export and has made the industry one of the top 7 industries that earns foreign exchange for the country. Indian Leather Industry currently is one among the top 8 industries for export revenue generation in India, holding 10% of the global raw material, and 2% of the global trade. Main leather exports comprise of skins and hides such as cow, sheep, and goat skin. Footwear, garments, handbags, leather gloves, purses, wallets, and briefcases are some of the products exported. Ranipet, Ambur, and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Agra, Delhi, Ludhiana, Sonepat, Pune, Kolkata, Calicut and Ernakulum are the major production centre in India. Talking about Mumbai, the leather business is one of the biggest contributors to the Mumbai slum’s (also known as Dharavi) informal economy, estimated to have an annual turnover of more than $500 million. About 15,000 small-scale industries, spread over an area of 500 acres, deal in businesses such as pottery, plastic recycling and garment manufacturing. But the leather trade has been hit hard by increasing competition, an influx of cheap Chinese goods, rising raw material costs and labour shortages in recent years, leading to a decline in demand and dimming prospects of the once-flourishing business. Leather production was one of the first industries to be established in Dharavi when Muslim tanners migrated from Tamil Nadu to Mumbai in the 19th century but they had to move to the outskirts because the manufacturing process was considered unsuitable for the growing business centre in south Mumbai. Leather manufacturing, polishing, colouring and retail became dominant after tanneries were banned in 1996 because of pollution concerns. Already in for a tough battle against cheaper imports and synthetics, the leather industry in Maharashtra was hit hard by the state's decision to ban bull slaughter. In Mumbai, traders and producers in Dharavi, which has emerged from being Asia's largest slum as a manufacturing hub for leather products, are apprehensive about the supply of animal skin. The leather industry is said to suffer because bull hides have a huge demand and utility for production. Its non-availability has forced imports of finished products from other states. “Maharashtra plays a pivotal role in supplying hide to tanneries in Kolkata and Chennai. Just the Deonar slaughterhouse in Mumbai supplies 450 animal hides a day, mainly buffalo, to these tanneries. Bullock skin, which is softer than buffalo skin, is used for making bags, purses and shoes. Buffalo skin cannot be folded or stitched properly, and is used for making soles and so on. Thus banning of the skin is not only talking a toll on the production but also on employment and jobs in imminent. Today, Dharavi accounts for a huge chunk of Maharashtra's leather sector. The state in turn, accounts for 15% of India's leather production, much of it in small and medium units. Many households in Dharavi supplement their income by taking up piece work in the leather industry, which provides employment to an estimated 25,000 people in Dharavi alone.

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