Kolkata: Prices of shoes, belts and other leather goods are set to rise by 50%-60% given the sharp rise in prices of petroleum-based chemicals, used by the leather industry, following the West Asia war. Exports of leather and leather goods from Kolkata as well as the rest of India could also drop by 40% due to the conflict, the Council for Leather Exports (CLE) has warned.CLE chairman Ramesh Kumar Juneja told TOI the price of petroleum-based chemicals used for the manufacture of shoes and other leather goods went up by 20%-80%. Sole factories that use LPG to melt thermoplastic rubber granules through boilers are working at 20% capacity due to LPG shortage. “The cost of manufacturing shoes and leather goods has increased by at least 30%. When it hits the retail market, there will be a price rise of 50%-60%. Many manufacturers will find it difficult to sell at the revised prices,” he said.While the Centre issued a notice, removing 7.5% import duty on chemicals for the tannery sector, chemicals used by the leather industry are not on that list.Bengal has around 550 tanneries with 300 more lined up to start manufacturing in a year and a half. Altogether, 3,000 leather goods manufacturing units are there in the state, of which 120 are located at Kolkata Leather Complex in Bantala.Juneja warned that exports of leather goods could slide by 40% due to the war that not only made Indian leather products more expensive, thereby eroding some of the competitiveness, but the longer shipping timelines also impacted exports. Earlier, shipment to Europe took 23 days. Europe and the US make up 70% of the leather goods export market from Kolkata. Now, with ships travelling around Africa due to the situation at the Strait of Hormuz, ships require nine-10 more days. Thus, it is taking 32-33 days to ship goods to Europe. The govt is providing 75% subsidy on the increased shipping costs to Europe but the additional time required to ship goods is hampering orders. An additional air freight subsidy notwithstanding, the disruption of air travel between India and Europe due to the war has meant there is hardly any space in the aircraft bellies.
