What has been the effect of Chinese imports?
Chinese imports have not affected the Indian leather industry as much as it has hit other industries. I don’t think China will in any way be able to compete with India in leather. The affected area will be ladies’ footwear, and that too in non-leather synthetic footwear. Not much development has taken place in ladies’ footwear in India, and particularly so in the non-leather segment. Another item likely to come in for competition is the handbag, again non-leather. This is an area Chinese may be able to penetrate the Indian market. All this is happening because of the absence of synthetic material in the Indian market. They have been considered a luxury in India and have attracted heavy duty and taxes. Any product based on petroleum is much cheaper in China. They are the largest suppliers in the world for non-leather products and have a high variety. Will this have an impact on the domestic sector marketing of leather products. Conventionally, the Indian leather industry has been bankin
