Over the years, there have been repeated calls for our export basket to be diversified. Among the numerous sectors that have been named, there is no doubt that our leather industries have long been hailed as the next potential export powerhouse to help reduce our over-dependence on the RMG sector.
To that end, it is disappointing how this sector continues to flounder. While leather is the country’s second‑largest export earner after garments, the industry continues to be held back by policy gaps, weak compliance, and chronic mismanagement.
The end result is stagnation in a sector that ought to have been thriving by now and helping our economy take the next step in its development journey.
The problems are not new: Environmental compliance deficits, inadequate infrastructure, weak institutional coordination, restricted access to finance, and insufficient progress in product diversification and value addition are all issues not only for the leather industry but indeed in all of our industrial sectors.
All of this, combined with bureaucratic red tape and other issues that deteriorate our ease of doing business, means that international buyers remain wary, and Bangladesh’s leather exports struggle to meet global standards.
It is a shame how these bottlenecks continue to prevent our businesses from realizing their full potential. Bangladesh has the raw materials, labour, and global demand to build a leather industry that rivals its garment sector. Yet, without clear policy direction, every day, we risk losing competitiveness to regional rivals.
The upcoming budget and industrial planning must reflect this urgency. Leather, and indeed other promising sectors, cannot remain trapped in policy limbo.
If Bangladesh is indeed serious about diversifying its exports and building resilience, the leather sector must be given the clarity, support, and innovation it deserves. We must confront the bottlenecks head‑on and unlock the sector’s true potential.
