Trade

Bangladeshi leather footwear exports continue to fall

Apr 11, 2024 Bangladesh

The downward trend continues. Bangladesh’s leather footwear exports fell by around 27% year-on-year in the nine months to March 2024, leading to a decline in the overall leather exports

According to the Export Promotion Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh, in the first nine months of fiscal 2023-2024, the Asian country recorded an overall leather export decline of 13.65% to 794.19 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the same period of the previous fiscal year. This figure was 21.16% lower than the strategic target set for the period of 1007.38 million US dollars. This result was primarily driven by the performance of the leather footwear segment.

From July 2023 to March 2024, Bangladesh’s leather footwear exports totalled 391.69 million US dollars, a decrease of 26.68% from the same months of fiscal year 2022-2023. This result was 29.82% below the strategic target set for the period of 558.16 million US dollars.

Although 13.88% lower than the strategic target set of 348.48 million US dollars, the country’s leather goods exports increased in the first nine months of the current fiscal year by 2.68%, reaching 300.10 million US dollars, as compared to a similar period of the prior year.

Meanwhile, exports of finished leather exports stood out in the nine months to the end of March with a growth of 9.82% to 100.74 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the same period of fiscal 2023-2023, and 1.65% above the strategic target of 100.74 million US dollars.

Government data also shows that from July to March of this year, Bangladesh’s other footwear exports amounted to 385.73 million US dollars, an increase of 7.67% as compared to the same months of the previous fiscal year. Albeit positive, this figure was 6.03% lower than the strategic target set for the period of 410.42 million US dollars.

Bangladeshi Footwear Industry

According to the World Footwear 2023 Yearbook (more information available HERE), the Asian country has emerged as one of the world’s top 10 footwear producers. Its exports have grown rapidly over the past decade, with a further 20% increase in 2022. Bangladesh exports mainly to the US and European markets and imports almost exclusively from China.

Image Credits: Abdullah AL IMRAN on Unsplash

Bangladesh Exports Footwear International Trade Leather