India and USA Major Partners for Bangladesh Leather Trade

Bangladesh's leather apparel and accessories exports totaled $174.328 million in the first five months of 2023. Surprisingly, India has grown to be a larger market than the United States, bucking the trend. India and the United States accounted for 22.30% and 19.75% of these exports, respectively. However, the United States and India were the first and second largest markets for Bangladesh's total leather exports of $474.555 million in 2022.

Because of lower labour costs, developing countries typically export labor-intensive products to developed countries. In this case, however, Bangladesh has successfully entered the neighbouring Indian market. India, a major competitor, also represents a sizable and dynamic consumer market for Bangladesh.

The top ten markets for leather goods in Bangladesh are mostly developed countries, with India being the sole exception. Exports to India were valued at $38.880 million between January and May 2023, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro. In comparison, exports to the United States totaled $34.430 million. Japan ($33.174 million, 19.03%), China ($10.577 million, 6.07%), and the Netherlands ($9.234 million, 5.30%) were also significant markets. Belgium had a 4.40 percent share of the next five top markets, followed by Canada (2.91 percent), Germany (2.71 percent), Australia (2.55 percent), and South Korea (1.39 percent).