Leather industry facing persistent decline in exports: Agha

The National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) which were fixed at level of 150 mg/liter chemical oxygen demand (COD) are unachievable for the leather industry thus the government should immediately provide interim relief and reduce the NEQ standards to rational level.
The Ministry of Environment, without taking the ground realities into consideration and without considering its impacts on our industry, had fixed and adopted high level of NEQS which remained one of the major reasons of declining exports of leather and leather product, said Agha Saiddain, President Environmental Society of the Pakistan Tanners Association (North Zone) while talking to Business Recorder here on Wednesday.
The decline in exports during the financial year 2008-09 was 19.26 percent as compared to 2007-08, which were further declined by 15.07 percent during the year 2009-10 meaning thereby the leather sector exports have been declined by 31.43 percent since 2007-08, he added.
He said the leather industry is facing persistent decline in the exports of leather and leather products during last couple of years to which it held higher National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) responsible as one of the major reason. Agha Saiddain said that some countries Like Costa Rica, Czech Republic, China, Indonesia, Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey, India and Sri Lanka whose per capita income is substantially higher than that of Pakistan have adopted lower level NEQS and thus can easily meet them to satisfy their importers.
Costa Rica whose per capita income is US $13,500 fixed/adopted 600 mg/liter COD, Czech Republic with per capita income of $24,400 adopted COD level with 300 mg/liter, while Venezuela with per capital income of $12,800 fixed COD level with 350. Even China whose per capita income is US $5,300 adopted COD level with 300 mg/liter, he maintained.
He was of the view that it was difficult for most of the industrial units to achieve such high level of COD. Only because of this reason the importers who are already reluctant to visit Pakistan due to prevailing law and order situation, are very touchy on the issue and generally they do not place their orders to such industrial units who are not meeting NEQ standards.
He said the Federal Minster for Environment has authorised to provide interim relief to the industry till the approval in the relevant Act by the National Assembly. The government should seriously consider the much-needed demand of the leather industry so as enable it survive under the present circumstances, he added. Some of the major international buyers have stopped buying from Pakistan due to non-compliance of NEQS. The industries with Individual Environmental Treatment Plants are unable to meet the NEQS and customers stopped buying saying that they can not buy from the supplier who is not following law of the land.
The government set up combined treatment plants at various places and these are also unable to meet NEQS. The solution was simple to revise the unrealistic NEQS but government is not serious to solve the problem and this attitude has put whole sector to the vulnerable position, he maintained.
Agha Saiddain further said that there were number of reasons that caused significant decline in the exports of leather and leather products during last couple of years. Rising power shortage, increasing utilities tariffs, deteriorating law and order situation, war on terrorism, unprecedented increase in cost of doing business, smuggling of live animals from Pakistan to Afghanistan and Iran are major reasons of decrease in the country's leather sector exports.