According to the latest data by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), during the first two months of the current fiscal year* the value of Pakistan’s leather manufactures exports increased by 8.39% compared to similar period in the previous year. During the period July-August 2020, the country exported goods in this segment with a total value of 98.232 million US dollars compared to exports worth 90.627 million US dollars registered in the first two months of the preceding fiscal year.

The same source indicated that exports of tanned leather in the same period totalled revenue of 19.858 million US dollars, which compares to 36.790 million US dollars in similar period in the previous year (a decline of 46.02%).

In the same period 2.213 million pairs were sent abroad, resulting in exports revenue of 21.656 million US dollars. This translates in a decline of 20.68% in volume and 16.05% in value. In the same period exports of leather footwear represented 87.4% of the total value of exports of footwear. Sales abroad of this type of footwear increased by 8.64% in volume but declined by 15.14% in value, from a similar period in 2019. Canvas footwear and other footwear categories, both declined its export, in quantity and value.

The Pakistani footwear industry, the 8^th largest in the world, is primarily geared to the internal market. The industry is mostly concentrated in the province of Punjab. According to the World Footwear 2020 Yearbook (AVAILABLE HERE), in 2019 both its imports and exports decreased. The country’s trade surplus increased as a result. Pakistan imports predominantly textile footwear from China. Its exports, on the other hand, are widely spread geographically.