Belarus to reduce finished leather imports

The leather industry in Belarus is relatively backward and its technology is old. It mainly produces leather raw materials, but the production capacity of finished leather products is insufficient and it relies more on imports. In order to change this situation, Belarus decided to implement the modernization reform of the leather industry and promote the production of local leather products.

In a recent report, Belarusian President Lukashenko visited the “Minsk Industrial Leather Association” and said that Belarus will modernize the leather industry within two years and the number of companies in the leather industry will be reduced by half. ”

Lukashenko pointed out: "In the coming time, we will be committed to the modernization of the domestic leather industry, and fully achieve this goal in 2016. We will establish a high-level, competitive, and master all kinds of leather materials technology Company."

Nowadays there are four representative companies in the Belarusian leather industry, including Bobrysk Leather Factory, Grodno Leather Union, Minsk Industrial Leather Union, and “Cobbler”. It is estimated that as a result of the modernization of the leather industry, the two major entities will be retained - the Minsk Industrial Leather Union and the Bobrysk Leather Factory.

In a conversation with the leather workers, Lukashenko said: “The first task before you is to make full use of the production capacity of existing production facilities. Although some scrap can also be used for sales, you should still focus on production. Make the most of raw materials."

Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that in 2012, the head of state discussed the prospects of the country's leather industry. “We have a lot of inadequacies: We have low productivity, old technology, a lot of raw materials that we can only use for export, and we don’t have the ability to handle these raw materials. The question we need to solve is what people will wear in the future. Is it made in China, in Turkey, or in the home country?"

"Fortunately, we insist on manufacturing in the country. This means that our raw materials will be processed in our country's daily needs of clothing, footwear and some small department stores." President Lukashenko stressed.

Alexander also stated that the modernization of the leather industry will not follow the modernization method of the wood processing industry, but will be fully modernized in 2016.

By then, all leather raw materials should be processed in Belarusian enterprises to make finished leather products. Lukashenko pointed out: "We should at least complete the processing of our country's leather raw materials, where possible, we should make full use of production capacity, purchase raw materials in other countries, and process them into finished leather products. In addition, Minsk Industrial Leather Association is not It will be sold and will not be privatized."

Minsk Industrial Leather Co., Ltd. is the largest and most technologically advanced leather manufacturing company in Belarus. It has been engaged in leather processing during the Soviet Union and produced a series of leather products, including shoes, clothing, furniture accessories, and garment accessories. The company has introduced nine large-scale equipment to speed up the modernization process. It is expected that modernization will make full use of the company's production capacity to meet 50% of the domestic demand for leather shoes.