Hide and Skin Marketing

Tahreem Asad
Introduction

• The term “hide” is used for the

skin of cattle

• The term “skin” is used for the

skin of smaller animals like
goats, sheep and calves
Hide vs. Skin

Hide Skin
Skin of Large Animal Skin of Small Animal or very young calf
Large, Thick and Heavy Small, Thinner and Tighter
Wt. > 30 lbs/ 13.62 kg Wt. < 20lbs/9.1 kg
Av. yield 7.0% of live wt. Av. Yield 11.0% of live wt
Source

Hide Skin
Slaughtered animals Slaughtered animals
20-25 % 80 %

Fallen Animals Fallen Animals

75-80% 20%

* Fallen animals: Death due to natural

Destination of Hide/ Skin

Post-Tanning Leather
Hide/Skin Drying Conditioning Tanning
Operations (End product)
Leather
Excellent tensile strength and flexibility

High resistance to puncture and tear

Insulation from weather

Good molding tendency hence versatile usage

History

• At the time of independence there were only a few tanneries producing sole
leather and that too at a very small scale
• In the early days of independence some tanneries were established in Karachi
• In 1950's some were established in Lahore and adjoining areas
• The 1960's saw the installation of more units in other parts of the country like
Multan, Sahiwal, Kasur, Gujranwala and Sialkot
• These units were well-equipped with the latest and modern facilities
Cont….

• More advanced units were established in the 1970's

• The era of 1980's saw a period of improved quality production
• In 1990 the leather sector jumped to become the second largest foreign exchange
earner for the country by contributing 10.41% toward the total export revenue
• During 2008-09, the leather exports of Pakistan faced a decline of 27%
Cont….

• The Leather Industry of Pakistan is employing more than 5M peoples (2009-2010)

• It contributes 5% of GDP and 5.4% to the overall export earnings of the country
• Pakistan is rich in agricultural products and plays an important role in the
economy of Pakistan by producing around 13.0M Hides and 47.4M Skins / annum
(2009-10)
Present scenario

• Within the leather garment sector, Italy, India and Pakistan are the top three
exporters, having exported leather garments worth $422.1M, $320.6M and
$237.5M, respectively, in 2020
• However, global supply of such commodities has been steadily declining over the
years, reaching a total export value of $2.3B in 2020
Raw Materials

1. Hides
Cow: The cow raw material is considered a superior raw material upon buffalo
because of its fine, tight and comparatively uniform structure
Buffalo: It is considered as the specialty of Pakistan in World
Raw Materials

2. Skin
Goats: It is good for making shoe upper leathers, garment and goods leather
Sheep's: Leather made from sheep raw materials has a very good and softer touch
and considered best for leather garments
Major Products
1. Footwear
2. Leather garments
3. Leather gloves
4. Handbags and purses
5. Key chains
6. Wallets
7. Sports goods
Pricing strategy

• The grading system is the method manufacturers use to present their pricing
structures to retail dealers
• Leather suppliers also use a grading system to distinguish their leathers and prices
to manufacturers
• Grades may vary according to different producers
• One producer's “A" may be another producers grade “3" or “4“
Cont….

• Leather craft's grading system features five grades

• The lower grades represent various different leather qualities ranging from painted
hides to corrected hides to anilines
• The price of a cow hide ranges from Rs 1,600-1,900
• Goat Rs 240-250 per skin
• Sheep the price stands at Rs 370-400 per skin
(2009)
Problems faced by the industry
1. Quality
2. Cost of production
3. The issue of chrome
4. Shortage of water
5. Environmental challenges
6. Waste water
7. Solid waste
8. Air emissions
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths

Eid- Ul- Adha

Availability of cheap manpower
High demand in international markets
Skins can be obtained in huge amount because there is a lot of meat consumption
in Pakistan
Fashion Industry
Weakness

Rising production cost makes leather industry uncompetitive

Hides and skins are lost due to skin diseases, Malnutrition, and primitive
slaughtering techniques
Environmental Issues
Energy crisis
Smuggling of raw materials and live animals
Meat prices and the prices of raw hides and skins
Opportunities

Export of garments using allowable fox fur trimmings for decoration should also
be permitted for boosting export of value added leather garments
Export of wet-blue grain and split leather is another demand of leather industry
which is not been taken care of
Latest plant and machinery is available off the shelf in the international markets
and can be purchased in short span of time in Pakistan
Threat

Competitors in the market

According to sources approximately 1.5 million animals were killed due to the
devastating floods in the country (business recorder 2010)
High cost of production
Recommendations

1. Development of Sector Specific Training Programs

2. Setting up Supporting Industry
3. Improving the Leather Value Chain
4. Certifications
5. Building the Country’s Image
6. Promoting Joint Ventures
7. Lowering Cost of Doing Business