India's Leather Industry Aims for USD 50 Billion Exports by 2030

New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asked the leather and footwear industry to target USD 50 billion in exports by 2030.

He also asked the industry to take advantage of various free trade agreements signed by India and focus on manufacturing world class products to tap global markets.

India has implemented free trade pacts with Australia and the UAE.

"I would recommend keeping a target of USD 50 billion of exports by 2030," he said here. At present, India's leather and products exports stand at around USD 5 billion.

The minister also said that the industry should follow the quality control norms as it would help in cutting down imports of sub-standard goods.

High-quality goods' making is the only way to become a world-class manufacturer, he added.

"My desire is that from the second largest manufacturer, we have to become largest. India is the ninth largest global exporter in the sector and that is not acceptable," he said.

The minister said that sufficient time has been given to the industry to comply with the quality control orders (QCO) and in fact, some more easing has been extended to fashion footwear makers and legacy stocks.

"Please cooperate with us on the QCO issue. You have the ability to capture the global markets," Goyal said.

"Today you are creating more than 40 lakh jobs. My sense is this should go up to one crore jobs... QCO doesn't apply on exports'¦Have a strong Indian branding, ensure that our designs are truly exceptional," he said.