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The government has launched a comprehensive reform programme to revive Bangladesh’s struggling leather industry, improve environmental compliance and transform the sector into an export industry worth more than US$10 billion, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said on Tuesday.
Replying to a notice raised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury in Parliament, the minister acknowledged the prolonged crisis facing the leather sector, particularly since the relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh to the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate.
“There is no disagreement about the problems in the leather sector,” Muktadir said, adding that while statistics may vary slightly, the industry’s challenges are widely recognised.
He said the government’s decision to relocate the tanneries from Hazaribagh was environmentally justified because untreated tannery waste had been polluting nearby rivers. However, he admitted that the relocation process itself had been poorly managed.
“The decision to relocate was right, but its implementation was extremely poor,” the minister told Parliament.
According to Muktadir, many tannery owners were unable to resume full-scale production after the move, significantly reducing the country’s leather processing capacity and affecting exports.
The minister also highlighted major shortcomings in the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at Savar. Although the facility was designed to treat 25,000 cubic metres of wastewater a day, it currently handles only 14,000 to 17,000 cubic metres under favourable conditions.
He said the CETP also lacks a chromium recovery plant, despite chromium being one of the most hazardous chemicals used in leather processing.
Most relocated tanneries also failed to install their own Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs), making it difficult to meet international environmental standards, he added.
Muktadir said internationally recognised Leather Working Group (LWG) certification requires compliance with a wide range of environmental and operational standards. While only 150 of the required 1,710 points relate to ETP compliance, the failure to establish proper treatment facilities discouraged many factories from pursuing the remaining certification requirements, resulting in the loss of access to premium export markets.
The minister said the decline in leather exports has also depressed domestic rawhide prices, particularly affecting Qawmi madrasas, which traditionally rely on income from sacrificial animal hides collected during Eid-ul-Azha.
To reverse the situation, the government plans to upgrade the existing CETP to its full capacity and build another central treatment plant to improve wastewater management.
Large tanneries will also be required to install individual ETPs, with the government offering technical support and, where necessary, financial assistance.
Muktadir said LWG certification would be made mandatory for eligible tanneries to ensure compliance with international environmental standards.
For financially distressed tannery owners unable to continue operations, the government plans to facilitate what he described as a “graceful exit” from the industry.
“Our goal is to develop leather and leather products into an export sector worth more than US$10 billion,” the minister said.
Highlighting measures taken during this year’s Eid-ul-Azha, Muktadir said the government distributed salt worth about Tk17.6 crore through the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to district administrations for preserving rawhides.
Selected madrasa teachers and administrators were trained in proper hide preservation techniques, while around 800,000 leaflets were distributed nationwide alongside television awareness campaigns.
According to government estimates, around 10.1 million animals were sacrificed during this year’s Eid, with approximately 7 million hides successfully preserved.
The minister said proper flaying and salting within four hours of slaughter are essential to maintaining the commercial value of rawhides, adding that 3 million to 3.5 million hides have already reached the Savar tannery estate for processing.
To prevent congestion at Savar immediately after Eid, the government temporarily restricted the movement of hide-laden trucks into Dhaka for one week, allowing preserved hides to arrive gradually.
Responding to a supplementary question on financial support for the leather industry, Muktadir said the government had deliberately decided against providing large-scale loans.
“Instead of injecting unnecessary funds into the market, we supplied essential inputs such as salt. At this stage, indiscriminate lending could create loan defaults without delivering the desired results,” he said.
