CLE to set up 'Leather desks' to augment exports

New Delhi, June 19 (UNI) In order to boost export of leather products, Council for Leather Exports (CLE), the apex body of leather goods exporters will set up specialised 'Leather Desks' in overseas Indian missions especially in Germany, the US and the UK.

Moreover, CLE has also started initiating Investment Promotion in leather sector to meet the target of an export turnover of 7 billion dollars by 2010-12 from the current level of 2.3 billion dollars, adopting a leather policy on the lines of IT and Textiles policy.

To achieve this target, a Leather Design Centre has been set up in NIFT -- a joint venture of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Indian Leather Garments Association (ILGA) and Council for Leather Exports (CLE) -- for releasing fashion trends, designs and colour forecasts in advance for the benefit of leather products exporters of the country.

''In 1998, ILGA signed a MoU with NIFT with an objective that Indian manufacturers should not emerge as jobbers but should create their own product line by developing designing skills and create a Brand India for itself,'' ILGA President Moti Lal Sethi said on the release of first Leather Trend Book Vision Spring/Summer 2007 here last night.

In the wake of changing global demands, leading brands and designers like Gucci, Marks and Spencer, Armany, Varsacce, Zara, Kenneth Cole and Liz Clairborne are looking at India for sourcing leather products.

The Leather Design Centre will go a long way to provide services and support to leather garments and leather goods industry in the areas of leather and styling trends, market intelligence, product development, design development, training and knowledge dissemination.

The centre will service the industry in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai through NIFT centres.

The country presently manufactures around 2065 million pairs of footwear, 16 million pieces of leather garments and 63 million pieces of other leather goods annually.

The total products value of Indian leather industry is around 4 billion dollars with annual exports of 2.3 billion dollars in 2004-05.

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