LFMEAB, the Leathergoods & Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh, estimates that in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (July 2014- March 2015) leather footwear exports totaled 354.22 million US dollars, which compares to a target for the period of 325.08 million US dollars. This positions exports of leather footwear 9% above the target for the period.

According to the same source, leather and leather products exports haven’t performance as well in the period as the effective exports of these two categories of products were below the strategic target set. Leather exports only achieved 66.9% of the strategic target and leather products 72.1%.

Data recently released by the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh reinforces this, with estimates for the period July 2014 –May 2015 of total footwear exports of 574.5 million US dollars (excludes parts of footwear). This compares to 467.21 million US dollars in the period July 2013-May 2014, and represents an increase of 23%, which is revealing of the country’s dynamic growth in terms of footwear exports.