By IANS
Chennai : The 23rd edition of India International Leather Fair that will open Thursday here has attracted about 400 participants, including 133 overseas companies.
The largest overseas contingent is from Italy with 24 participants, followed by Germany (20 participants), Pakistan (10), Thailand (9), China (7) and Mexico (6), said Rajiv Yadav, executive director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
The four-day leather fair that begins Jan 31 and ends Feb 3 is being jointly organised by the Council for Leather Exports and ITPO here at Chennai Trade Centre.
It will be inaugurated by V. Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitive Council.
According to Mukhtarul Amin, chairman, Council for Leather Exports and chairman and managing director of Superhouse Leathers Ltd, this time the fair has attracted a good number of buyers from Europe, Africa and North America.
“We have arranged for business-to-business (B2B) meetings between the participants,” he said.
A comprehensive range of products and services relating to leather industry – footwear and footwear components, leather garments, fashion accessories, leather goods like travelware, purses, wallets, belts, machinery for tanning, shoemaking, dryers, chemicals, stitching and sewing machines will be on display at the exhibition.
There will be a separate pavilion set up by Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI)), ITPO and Council for Leather Exports that would project future trends, colours and styles.
The leather fair will also feature seminars discussing current trends and challenges in the global market.
Speaking about the impact on the leather exports with the rupee appreciating against the US dollar, Amin said: “Though exports increased by nine percent in dollar terms, in rupee terms it has gone down by three percent.”
In April-Sep 2007, exports reached $1.66 billion as against the previous year’s performance of $1.51 billion.
Queried as to how exporters were impacted as 64 percent of the country’s leather exports are to European countries, he said: “The destination may be Europe but the currency in which exports are negotiated is US dollars.”
Said K. Elangovan, executive director, Council for Leather Exports: “The euro is hardening against US dollar and hence importers are forcing Indian companies to cut their prices.”
The industry has requested the central government to exempt manufacturers from excise duties so that they can also look at the domestic market in a big way.