LAHORE, Jan 14: As a result of the decision by a couple of US companies to stop sourcing leather from India in the wake of reports of cruel treatment of animals, Pakistan’s leather industry hopes to regain at least some of the ground it lost after the September 11.

Nike and Rebook, two major American firms, are reported by the Leather International, London, to have “joined boycott of leather exports from India.” A Peru-based company, Foresta International, is also said to have enforced a ban on leather goods from India.

The ban on the Indian leather goods has been enforced by the companies after reviewing the documentation provided by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The PETA, an NGO, claims that these companies have pledged to it that they will no longer purchase leather from India. However, Nike and Rebook say they had never sourced leather from India for their international operations.

Pakistan leather goods producers/exporters term the development as “positive” for the local industry. “It’s the first good news in many months,” said a leading exporter of leather garments.

He was hopeful that many a such foreign company as GAP, Levi’s, G3, that stopped sourcing leather and leather products from Pakistan after Sept 11 and went to India or China, would return to Pakistan. “It would help us regain the ground lost to the Indians in the recent months,” he said.

Pakistan’s total leather and leather products exports stood at $708 million during the financial year 2000-01, or seven per cent of the entire export earnings, biggest after textiles.

Leather garments constituted around $333 million of the entire exports, finished leather $224 million, sport gloves $78 million, footwear $36 million, gloves 23 million, industrial leather goods $10 million, and other goods $4 million.

Exports of leather garments were hit hard after the US attacks as these fell by 24.74 per cent during October to $36.580 million from $49.033 million in the corresponding month last year. In the way, the leather garments export fell by 23.5 per cent to $33.260 million during November from $43.468 million in the corresponding month last year.

“Since the US raids, foreign buyers have given us up for India and China. At least 70 per cent units have been closed down since Sept 11, rendering about 100,000 people jobless. The new development would hopefully bring the buyers back to Pakistan and help us get back some of the market share we lost during the recent months,” the exporter said.