Bangladesh's Commerce Ministry will prepare a national roadmap for the leather and footwear industry, Commerce Secretary announced, signalling a policy push to lift one of the country's top export earners after leather goods and footwear saw shipments slide in the current fiscal year.

The secretary confirmed the plan at a stakeholder event, stating: "Leather and footwear industry roadmap will be prepared." The document is expected to guide investment priorities, compliance upgrades and market-diversification targets for the sector, which ranks among Bangladesh's largest export categories after readymade garments.

Why does the sector need a roadmap now?

Leather and leather goods exports have contracted over recent fiscal years, hurt by weak global demand and persistent compliance questions around tannery operations. The relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh to the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate remains incomplete in parts, and environmental enforcement at the effluent treatment plant has drawn buyer scrutiny.

Footwear has held up better than finished leather, as exporters move up the value chain from wet-blue hides to finished shoes for European and Asian buyers. A roadmap would formalise that shift toward higher-value manufacture.

What decisions does the plan force for buyers and suppliers?

Sourcing executives tracking Bangladesh as a China-plus-one footwear destination should watch three areas:

• Compliance traceability. Any roadmap commitments on environmental standards at Savar will determine whether leather exports regain preferential access credibility with EU buyers subject to due-diligence rules. -- Capacity targets. Sector strategies from the Commerce Ministry typically set export and investment goals that shape bank financing and bond-facility access for footwear factories.
• Timeline. The government has not yet published a drafting deadline; suppliers and buyers should monitor when a consultation draft circulates to industry associations.

For factory owners, the decision is whether to invest in certification and effluent compliance ahead of the roadmap, or wait for the policy text. For buyers, the roadmap's compliance chapter will indicate whether Bangladeshi leather can be contracted under stringent corporate sustainability regimes without additional audits.