Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLFEA), as a trade organization, was first granted licence by the government on 02.03.1986 under the title "Bangladesh Finished Leather Exporters' Association. Subsequently, in 1994, it was renamed as Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather goods Exporters' Association. Finally, in 1999, through another amendment, the organization assumed the present title - Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather goods and Footwear Exporters' Association. The said amendments not only expanded the title of this organization but also broadened its role in rendering services to its members.
The notable aims and objectives of the association are:- to promote, protect and safeguard the interest of all members ; to maintain the highest unity, mutual co operation and goodwill among the members; to render possible help and assistance in overcoming their difficulties; to promote or oppose legislative measures affecting the business of the members; to maintain liaison with different government departments, FBCCI and other related organizations for the protection of the lawful cause of the members.
BFLLFEA carries out its activities through an executive committee of 13 members elected by the general members for a term of two years. The committee again elects from itself the following office bearers.
At present the total number of members stands at 185 of whom about 74 are engaged in producing various kinds of leather goods and footwear. The rest of the members are producing superior quality crust and finished leather to boost the export earning of the country as well as to meet the domestic demand of the leather goods manufacturing industries.
Leather processing is an old manufacturing sub-sector in Bangladesh with heritage of over six decades. Availability of indigenous raw material hides facilitated the setting up of the industry in early 1940s in the then East Bengal. In Pakistan period (1947-1971), the industry was dominated by non-Bangalee migrants India, who had the knowledge and the know-how of leather processing. At that time, leather processing was limited to the production of wet blue leather (semi processed tanned leather) and the non- Bangalee traders exported a large portion of the product to West Pakistan for further processing and production of leather goods. A few small tanning units belonged to Bangalee entrepreneurs.
After the independence of Bangladesh, the government took over the tannery industry abandoned by the departing non- Bangalee entrepreneurs but had limited success in operating them under the public sector. Export of processed leather consisted entirely of wet blue leather till 1980-81. After 1981, a number of policy support measures aimed at privatization of and raising value addition level in the industry provided incentive for new private investment in leather industry. The ban imposed on export of wet blue leather in June 1990 led to the setting up of modern leather tanning units for the production of crust leather (tanned leather after further processing of wet blue leather) and finished leather and this was followed by new investment in leather goods industry.
Till the end of the last decade of the last century 95% of leather produced in Bangladesh was marketed abroad, mostly in the form of crust leather and finished leather. Subsequently leather garments, footwear and leathergoods like office bags, ladies bag, wallets, belts, purses etc were included in the production basket. Most of these items are exported to Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Japan, China and Singapore. Value addition in these items is on an average 85%. About 160 TANNERY units are now in operation in this sector. These are located mostly in the Tannery Industrial Estate about 30 km away from the capital city. Export earning in last five years from leather sector may be seen in the following chart.
| Year | Product | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | Footwear | Leather Product |
||
| 2016-2017 | 232.61 | 536.96 | 464.43 | 1234 |
| 2017-2018 | 183.10 | 565.60 | 336.81 | 1085.51 |
| 2018-2019 | 164.62 | 607.88 | 247.28 | 1019.78 |
| 2019-2020 | 98.31 | 478.75 | 220.55 | 797.61 |
| 2020-2021 | 119.14 | 569.88 | 252.65 | 941.67 |
Bangladesh is endowed with luxurious vegetation encouraging a large livestock population. The quality of the raw hide and skin is relatively good, as barbed wire fencing that damages the skins of animals is not used in the natural farms and fields. Skin of black Bengal goat is particularly noted for its fine grain structure and tensile strength. The tradition of humane care of domestic animals also contributes significantly to high quality of leather in Bangladesh.
More then 50% of the annual supply of hide and skin comes from animals slaughtered during the annual Muslim festival of EID-UL AZHA. In addition, daily consumption of meat in Muslim weddings, and other celebrations yields a substantial supply of hide and skin. Tanning industry got a big boost following the government decision to promote value addition in exports. The installed capacity for crust leather production increased. Investments are also being made in installing new finishing capacity.
The government of Bangladesh provides support to the leather industry through various steps, including monitoring the export market, evaluating the performance of the sector by a permanent parliamentary committee, and liberal bank credit.
Leathergoods & Footwear sub sector in Bangladesh has been experiencing a sharp and sustained growth during the last 10 years and has started to make deep penetration into the international market. The quality and finishing of leather available in Bangladesh have been recognized globally especially in the Far East and Europe.
This sector is also a major employer of semi-skilled workers, which is a vital step towards alleviating unemployment problems. Huge number of people are engaged in cattle rearing, hide collection and transportation, leather processing in tanneries, products manufacturing and exporting process.