COMESA/LLPI. represented by its Executive Director, Dr. Mwinyhija Mwinyikione and the Leather Value Chain Expert, Prof. Mekonnen Hailemariam participated in the 30th edition of the India International Leather Fair (IILF) known to be one of the biggest convergence of the leather industry in South - Asian region.
The Fair that was organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) with the support of apex leather bodies: Council for Leather Exports(CLE), Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Indian Shoe Federation (ISF), Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers & Exporters Association (IFLMEA), Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), Association of Footwear Components and Machinery Manufacturers of India (AFCAMI) and Indian Footwear Component Manufacturers’ Association (IFCOMA) was held in Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Chennai, India from Jan 31 – Feb3 – 2015.
A total of 444 exhibitors including 143 overseas companies from 23 countries participated in the trade fair and exhibited their leather products, chemical, accessories and technologies in leather processing.
The Government of India has designated leather as one of the “Focus Sectors” under the National Foreign Trade Policy, and included the sector in the ‘Make in India’ campaign. With an annual turnover of over US$ 12 billion, the export of leather & leather products of India increased manifold over the past decade and touched US$ 5.90 billion in 2013-14, at a cumulative annual growth rate of 14.77 per cent (5 years).
Concurrent with the exhibition, the Chennai Institute of Leather Technology Alumni Association (CLTAA) organized Technical Seminar that was attended by more than 200 leather sector enterprises and exhibitors. The Seminar was one of the main events of the Trade Fair in which the COMSA/LLPI’s Executive Director, presented a paper entitled “Status of Africa’s Leather Sector – Challenges and Opportunities. The Executive Director’s presentation arose five interests among the Enterprises to visit COMESA countries for possible establishment of trade link and joint ventures. CLTAA and COMESA/LLPI agreed to work out a visit program for the Indian Leather Sector Enterprises to visit COMESA countries in 2015.
The COMESA/LLPI Executive Director, Dr. Mwinyhija also met and discussed with the Kenyan High Level Delegation led by the Honorable Minister H.E. Mr. Adan Abdulla Mohamed, Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development. The Kenyan Delegation was on official visit to India to foster the Kenyan Leather Sector development. Dr Mwinyihja’s discussion with the Honorable Minster focused on further strengthening the Kenyan leather sector through the development of Leather Sector Policy, launching of Leather Value Chain Strategy, establishment of revolving fund for SMEs through PTA Bank and mainstreaming the SMEs into productive units of the leather sector in Kenya.
