The Pakistan Leather Goods Production Report

Pakistan's leather economy begins upstream of the finished shoe or jacket, linking livestock, hide and skin recovery, tanning, leather finishing, factory production, apparel and footwear. The sector therefore cannot be understood from one export total alone.

The 2023 trade data provide a useful finished-goods view. Pakistan exported $239.09 million of leather apparel under HS 420310, alongside 1.44 million kilograms of physical shipments. Footwear classified under HS 640590 added $25.44 million on 10.09 million pairs, while footwear with rubber or plastic soles and leather uppers under HS 640391 contributed $8.94 million on 421,969 pairs. Across these three selected product lines, reported export value reached about $273.47 million.

The upstream data are substantial as well. For FY2025-26, the livestock series records 61.96 million cattle, 49.1 million buffalo, 33.5 million sheep and 91.8 million goats. Estimated output reaches 21.43 million hides and 68.26 million skins. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics manufacturing data for Jul-Sep FY2023-24 add a direct industrial layer: 3.391 million square meters of upper leather, 8.447 million pairs of footwear and a leather-products production index of 55.47 on a 2015-16 base of 100.

Executive Pakistan Leather Production Benchmarks

The numbers that define the industry

The strongest first reading of Pakistan's leather-goods production is the gap between upstream scale and finished-goods specialization. Goat numbers are the largest among the four livestock groups in the dataset, rising from 87.0 million in FY2023-24 to 91.8 million in FY2025-26. Cattle increase from 57.5 million to 61.96 million over the same span, while buffalo rise from 46.3 million to 49.1 million and sheep from 32.7 million to 33.5 million.

The closer production signal is actual hides and skins output. Total hides rise from 20.051 million in FY2023-24 to 21.426 million in FY2025-26, a gain of about 6.9%. Total skins rise from 65.181 million to 68.262 million, up about 4.7%. Within the latest period, cattle hides account for 11.026 million pieces and buffalo hides 10.278 million. Goat skins, at 35.372 million pieces, form the largest skin category, while sheep skins reach 12.671 million.

Factory indicators add a different perspective. Upper leather production advances from 1.095 million square meters in July 2023 to 1.174 million square meters in September, producing a three-month total of 3.391 million square meters. Footwear production stays near 2.8 million pairs per month, totaling 8.447 million pairs across July to September. The leather-products production index moves from 55.07 in July to 54.95 in August and 56.40 in September, with a three-month reading of 55.47.

Finished-goods exports demonstrate where value is captured. Leather apparel alone represents about 87.4% of the combined export value of the three selected lines in the dataset. The footwear categories are smaller by value, but their physical quantities are important. HS 640590 records more than 10 million pairs, showing a high-volume stream, while leather-upper footwear under HS 640391 has a much higher derived average value per pair of about $21.19 compared with about $2.52 per pair for HS 640590. The difference reflects product classification and market mix and should not be treated as a direct retail-price comparison.

 

 

Why Pakistan Leather Production Requires a Supply-Chain View

Leather goods emerge from linked stages, so weakness anywhere can change border outcomes. Livestock establishes potential supply; hides and skins show recovered material; tanning and finishing determine whether that material becomes usable upper or sole leather.

These layers must remain separate. More cattle does not guarantee an equal rise in usable hides, and more hides does not guarantee more upper leather. Factory utilization, quality, processing yields and buyer demand connect each stage.

Value and volume also behave differently. Pakistan's 2023 leather-apparel exports average about $166 per kilogram in the reported trade data, while the two footwear categories show markedly different values per pair. A category can expand physical output without equivalent value growth if it shifts toward lower-value products, while a premium product mix can raise export earnings with fewer units.

 

Pakistan's Livestock Base and Leather Raw-Material Capacity

The biological foundation of the leather industry

The livestock series points to a sizeable and gradually expanding upstream base. Goats increase from 87.0 million head in FY2023-24 to 89.4 million in FY2024-25 and 91.8 million in FY2025-26. That is a two-year increase of about 5.5%. Cattle grow more quickly in percentage terms, from 57.5 million to 61.96 million, an increase of roughly 7.8%. Buffalo numbers rise by about 6.0%, while sheep increase by approximately 2.4%.

These differences matter because the leather stream is divided between hides and skins. Cattle and buffalo contribute the principal hide categories in the dataset, while goats and sheep contribute skin categories. Growth in each animal population therefore feeds a different raw-material channel.

Livestock numbers provide capacity context, not a production total. Commercial output depends on animals entering slaughter and collection, hide and skin condition, preservation, grading, and domestic processing. Population growth shows an expanding resource base but does not directly measure tannery throughput or finished-goods quality.

For manufacturers, a growing biological base improves planning visibility and can support more domestic raw material. Higher-value leather goods still depend on efficient recovery, preservation, tanning, finishing, cutting and assembly.

Figure 1. Major livestock populations rise across FY2023-24 to FY2025-26, with goats remaining the largest group in the reported series.

 

 

Hides and Skins Production

From livestock numbers to usable leather inputs

Hides and skins production moves the analysis closer to the material that can actually enter tanning. Total hides are estimated at 20.051 million pieces in FY2023-24, 20.727 million in FY2024-25 and 21.426 million in FY2025-26. The sequence represents a steady annual rise, adding about 1.375 million hides across the two-year span.

Cattle hides are the larger component of the hide total. They increase from 10.240 million to 11.026 million pieces, a gain of about 7.7%. Buffalo hides increase from 9.694 million to 10.278 million, about 6.0%. Camel hides remain a much smaller stream, moving from 118,000 to 121,000 pieces.

Skins operate on a larger numerical scale. Total output rises from 65.181 million pieces in FY2023-24 to 68.262 million in FY2025-26. Goat skins grow from 33.530 million to 35.372 million, while sheep skins move from 12.376 million to 12.671 million. The reported skin total is larger than the combined goat and sheep categories shown in the dataset, indicating that the aggregate includes additional skin categories beyond those two detailed rows.

Population and recovered output are different measures. Factories process preserved hides and skins, not animal populations, making hide and skin totals the more operational starting point for estimating material available to tanneries and manufacturers.

Figure 2. FY2025-26 output is led by goat skins among the detailed categories, followed by sheep skins, cattle hides and buffalo hides.

 

Industrial Leather Production in Pakistan

Measuring factory-level conversion

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics production data provide the report's most direct factory-level measurements. Upper leather output reaches 1.095 million square meters in July 2023, 1.122 million in August and 1.174 million in September. The three-month total is 3.391 million square meters. The month-to-month pattern is positive over this short window, with September output about 7.2% above July.

Footwear production is much larger in unit count because it is measured in pairs rather than area. Output is 2.827 million pairs in July, 2.786 million in August and 2.834 million in September, totaling 8.447 million pairs for Jul-Sep FY2023-24.

Sole leather production is also reported in the PBS table, at 16 units in each of July, August and September and 48 for the three-month period. Because the table's unit is presented generically as quantity in the source extract, it should not be converted into a different physical unit without additional documentation.

The manufacturing-of-leather-products index adds an aggregate view. It records 55.07 in July, 54.95 in August and 56.40 in September on a 2015-16 base of 100, with a Jul-Sep reading of 55.47. The index is not a substitute for physical production, but it helps summarize the broader direction of leather-products manufacturing beyond any one item.

Figure 3. Upper leather and footwear production remained broadly stable across July to September 2023, with both ending September above August levels.

 

 

Pakistan Leather Apparel Production and Export Performance

Finished leather clothing as a high-value manufacturing signal

Leather apparel is the dominant finished-goods export line in the dataset. Pakistan's 2023 exports under HS 420310 reach $239.09 million on 1.439 million kilograms. The implied average trade value is about $166.09 per kilogram. Because the reported partner-level values and quantities in this series produce nearly identical unit values across destinations, the more informative comparison is destination share and physical volume rather than small differences in calculated value per kilogram.

Germany is the largest destination, receiving $54.73 million of leather apparel and 329,506 kilograms. That equals about 22.9% of the world export value recorded for the product. The United States ranks second at $36.35 million and 218,835 kilograms, or about 15.2%. The Russian Federation follows with $23.66 million and 142,458 kilograms. Together, these three markets absorb roughly 48.0% of Pakistan's reported leather-apparel export value.

The Netherlands, Spain and France form the next tier. The Netherlands receives $18.31 million, Spain $16.33 million and France $15.59 million. The United Kingdom adds $14.20 million. This pattern gives the category a strongly European orientation, while the United States remains a major non-European destination.

Physical quantities broadly mirror value because the reported unit-value relationship is stable in this product series. Germany accounts for about 329,506 kilograms, the United States 218,835 kilograms and Russia 142,458 kilograms. The consistency allows destination concentration to be interpreted without a large distortion from unit-value variation.

The export data do not reveal total domestic garment production or factory capacity. They do, however, show the scale of output that meets export demand. At more than $239 million, leather apparel is by far the strongest value stream among the three selected finished-goods product lines, and its market diversification therefore matters disproportionately to Pakistan's leather-goods export economy.

Figure 4. Germany and the United States lead Pakistan's 2023 leather-apparel export destinations, followed by the Russian Federation and major European markets.

 

 

Pakistan Leather Footwear Production and Export Performance

The footwear trade data reveal a more segmented picture than leather apparel. HS 640590, described as footwear not elsewhere specified, records $25.44 million in 2023 exports on 10.094 million pairs. The implied average value is about $2.52 per pair. HS 640391, covering footwear with rubber or plastic soles and leather uppers, is smaller in volume at 421,969 pairs and smaller in total value at $8.94 million, but its implied average value is much higher at about $21.19 per pair.

Saudi Arabia dominates the HS 640590 category. Pakistan ships $18.55 million and 8.688 million pairs to the market, equal to roughly 72.9% of world export value and 86.1% of world quantity for the product. The Netherlands is a distant second by value at $2.34 million, followed by the United Kingdom at $1.47 million.

Leather-upper footwear shows a different destination structure but is also concentrated. The Netherlands receives $5.61 million and 282,469 pairs, accounting for about 62.7% of world export value. The United Kingdom follows at $672,360, Germany at $459,520 and the United States at $261,080.

Derived value per pair also varies substantially in leather-upper footwear. Spain is near $29.58 per pair among the leading markets, Germany about $28.95, Russia around $27.19 and the United Kingdom approximately $27.05. The Netherlands, despite being the largest destination, is lower at about $19.85 per pair.

For production strategy, the footwear data show two different manufacturing-market models. The HS 640590 line is a high-volume stream centered on Saudi Arabia, while leather-upper footwear is a lower-volume, higher-unit-value stream with the Netherlands as its primary market.

Figure 5. Saudi Arabia dominates the selected HS 640590 footwear export line, creating a highly concentrated destination structure.

 

 

Export Value Versus Physical Production Volume

Export value is often the most visible commercial indicator, but it is not the same as physical output. The three selected product lines illustrate the difference clearly. Leather apparel generates $239.09 million from 1.439 million kilograms, while HS 640590 footwear generates only $25.44 million despite shipping more than 10 million pairs. Leather-upper footwear generates $8.94 million from 421,969 pairs.

Physical output answers a different question from export value. Kilograms show leather apparel shipped and pairs show footwear units, while value reflects product mix, contracts and destination composition. Rising quantity alongside falling value can indicate more output without stronger value capture.

The sector-level Jul-Mar FY2024 indicators show why both measures must be tracked. Tanned-leather export quantity is reported down 3.4%, while export value falls a much larger 20.6%. Footwear export quantity declines 1.7%, while footwear export value drops 11.3%. In both cases, the value decline is materially steeper than the quantity decline, indicating that commercial performance weakened more sharply than physical shipment volume.

Export revenue alone can misread production. Managers must also track units produced and shipped, average value per unit, and shifts in destination or product mix.

 

Major International Markets for Pakistani Leather Goods

The destination data show that Pakistan's leather-goods exports do not follow one universal geographic pattern. Leather apparel is distributed across a relatively broad set of European and North American markets. HS 640590 footwear is centered heavily on Saudi Arabia. Leather-upper footwear is concentrated in the Netherlands.

Germany is the largest leather-apparel market at $54.73 million, while the United States is second at $36.35 million. Both are high-value destinations and together absorb about 38.1% of the product's world exports. The Russian Federation, Netherlands, Spain, France and United Kingdom provide additional scale.

In HS 640590 footwear, the pattern reverses. Saudi Arabia's $18.55 million share is so large that it accounts for almost three quarters of world export value. In quantity terms its dominance is even greater, at more than 8.68 million of the 10.09 million pairs shipped worldwide.

For leather-upper footwear, the Netherlands accounts for about 62.7% of world export value. The United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Japan, Spain, Russia, China, Italy and France form a long tail of smaller markets. The category therefore has geographic breadth but still exhibits a strong lead-market concentration.

Market diversification is also a production issue. Dependence on one market can force rapid factory adjustments when orders or specifications change. A broader destination mix spreads demand but increases product, compliance and logistics complexity.

Figure 6. Top-three and top-five destination shares vary markedly across apparel and footwear product lines.

 

Germany and the United States in Leather Apparel Demand

Germany and the United States form the two largest markets for Pakistan's leather apparel in the 2023 dataset. Germany receives $54.73 million, while the United States receives $36.35 million. Their combined value of about $91.08 million represents roughly 38.1% of the world export total for HS 420310. In physical terms the two markets receive approximately 548,341 kilograms combined.

Germany's lead is substantial. Its value is about 50.6% higher than the United States figure, and its quantity is similarly larger. Because the reported value-per-kilogram relationship is effectively constant across the product series, the difference is best interpreted as a scale difference rather than a premium-unit-value gap.

Germany and the United States are operationally important because together they account for more than one third of the leather-apparel export stream. Manufacturers serving them need consistent scheduling, quality and order continuity. Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, France and the United Kingdom provide additional diversification.

For production planning, this mix offers both stability and concentration risk. Large anchor markets can support repeatable programs and factory utilization, while a broader secondary-market portfolio can reduce dependence on any one buyer country. The apparel data suggest Pakistan already has both elements, though the top two markets remain disproportionately important.

 

Production Value per Unit

Derived export value per physical unit helps separate scale from positioning. For leather apparel, reported 2023 value divided by quantity produces an average of about $166.09 per kilogram. For HS 640590 footwear, the comparable measure is about $2.52 per pair. For leather-upper footwear, it is about $21.19 per pair.

The gap between the footwear categories is especially useful. Leather-upper footwear carries an average value more than eight times that of HS 640590. This does not mean every leather-upper shoe is eight times more valuable, because the classifications cover different products and markets, but it does show that the export mix in HS 640391 sits at a materially higher recorded value per pair.

Destination-level calculations further show that unit value is not identical across leather-upper footwear markets. Spain is approximately $29.58 per pair, Germany $28.95, Russia $27.19 and the United Kingdom $27.05. The Netherlands, despite taking nearly two thirds of export value, is around $19.85 per pair. Japan is approximately $20.22 and the United States around $20.95.

These differences can reflect product mix, specifications, order size and customs valuation. They are most useful as a comparative production-market signal: factories can see which markets are associated with higher recorded value per pair and ask whether that result comes from more complex products, different materials or a different customer mix.

Figure 7. Derived export value per pair differs across leading leather-upper footwear destinations, with Spain and Germany among the higher-value markets in the selected set.

 

Leather's Position in Pakistan's Export Economy

The broader trade context places leather at 2.6% of Pakistan's total exports in Jul-Mar FY2024 in the government series used for this report. The figure shows that leather is meaningful but not dominant in the national export mix.

The same Jul-Mar comparison records a 3.4% decline in tanned-leather export quantity and a 20.6% decline in tanned-leather export value. Footwear export quantity is down 1.7% and footwear export value down 11.3%.

Finished-goods development matters because each step from hides and skins to processed leather, footwear and apparel adds domestic manufacturing activity. The statistics do not quantify margin at each stage, so no exact value-add multiplier should be inferred. They do confirm Pakistan's participation across raw-material production, leather processing, footwear manufacturing and finished-goods exports.

A resilient leather-production system therefore needs to monitor both its national export role and its product-level performance. Sector share gives macro context, while factory output, physical shipment quantities, destination concentration and unit values give management-level detail.

 

From Raw Hides to Finished Export Value

Pakistan's leather chain can be read as a sequence of measurable transformations. Livestock provides the biological base. Hides and skins convert that base into recoverable material. Tanneries transform the material into leather. Factory output converts leather into footwear and other goods. Export trade then records the portion of finished production sold abroad.

The FY2025-26 estimates of 21.426 million hides and 68.262 million skins demonstrate the scale of upstream material flow. The Jul-Sep FY2023-24 manufacturing statistics then show 3.391 million square meters of upper leather and 8.447 million pairs of footwear. Finally, the 2023 trade data record $273.47 million of export value across the three selected leather-goods lines. These measures are not directly additive because they cover different periods and units, but they map the key stages of the value chain.

The commercial objective of the chain is not simply to maximize the count of hides or pairs. It is to preserve material quality, use processing capacity efficiently and convert a larger share of output into products that buyers value. The strong leather-apparel export line illustrates the economic significance of downstream manufacturing: a relatively modest physical quantity of 1.439 million kilograms produces more export value than the two selected footwear streams combined.

The footwear data illustrate the same principle within one broad product family. The higher-volume HS 640590 line averages about $2.52 per pair, while leather-upper footwear averages about $21.19. Manufacturing scale matters, but product composition and destination structure can change the commercial return from each physical unit.

 

 

Pakistan Leather Goods Production Benchmark Index

A production benchmark needs to balance material availability with factory and market performance. The index framework in this report therefore uses eight pillars rather than allowing export value alone to determine the result. Finished-goods manufacturing receives the largest weight at 17% because physical conversion into footwear and apparel is the point at which processed leather becomes a tradable consumer or industrial good.

Raw-material availability and leather-processing output each receive 15%. These two pillars recognize that manufacturing cannot expand sustainably without a reliable material base and tanning capacity. Export physical volume receives 14%, reflecting the importance of actual quantities shipped rather than revenue alone. Export value creation receives 13% because foreign-market earnings remain a central measure of commercial performance.

Market diversification receives 10%, capturing the vulnerability visible in footwear categories where one destination dominates. Unit-value positioning receives 9% because higher trade value per unit can signal more valuable product-market combinations, even though the metric must be interpreted carefully. Production transparency receives 7%, rewarding complete measurement of output, units, periods and market channels.

The framework is intentionally balanced. A high-value export line should not conceal weak production diversity, and a large raw-material base should not automatically produce a strong score if factory conversion or market access is limited. The purpose is to keep the production chain visible from feedstock through exports.

 

 

Pakistan Leather Production Challenges

The first challenge is conversion. Pakistan has a large livestock base and rising hides and skins output, but upstream scale does not automatically create higher factory output or export value. Quality must be preserved through collection, tanning and manufacturing for raw-material strength to become finished-goods strength.

The second challenge is export concentration. Saudi Arabia accounts for roughly 72.9% of HS 640590 footwear export value and more than 86% of quantity. The Netherlands accounts for about 62.7% of leather-upper footwear export value. Leather apparel is more diversified, but Germany and the United States still account for about 38.1% combined.

The third challenge is value capture. Jul-Mar FY2024 export values fall more steeply than quantities in both tanned leather and footwear. That pattern can occur when unit values weaken, product mix changes or pricing pressure intensifies. The dataset does not identify the cause, but the gap itself is important because it shows that physical throughput can be relatively stable while commercial returns deteriorate.

The fourth challenge is measurement consistency. Production data are reported in square meters, pairs, generic quantities and index points, while trade data are reported in dollars, kilograms and pairs. A management system needs to preserve these unit differences rather than combining them into one artificial total. The practical solution is a dashboard that links indicators without erasing their original units.

Finally, product structure matters. Leather apparel generates far more export value than the selected footwear lines, while footwear contains both a high-volume lower-unit-value category and a lower-volume higher-unit-value leather-upper category. Strategies for capacity, product development and destination diversification therefore need to be tailored to each manufacturing stream.

 

90-Day Leather Production Benchmark Plan

Days 1 to 30 should establish the physical baseline. Manufacturers and industry bodies should record raw-material intake, hide and skin grade mix, upper-leather output, footwear pairs, garment kilograms or pieces, work in process and finished inventory. National statistics already provide useful reference points, but factory-level management requires the same discipline at shorter intervals. The goal is to know what enters the production system, what is converted and what is rejected or downgraded.

Days 31 to 60 should connect production to commercial output. Export orders should be mapped by HS/product family, destination, physical quantity and value. A footwear factory should be able to see pairs produced, pairs shipped and derived export value per pair. A leather-apparel producer should track kilograms or pieces alongside order value. Destination concentration should be measured for the top three and top five markets so management can identify where order-book risk is concentrated.

Days 61 to 90 should build resilience indicators. Track lead time, repeat-buyer share, on-time completion, product mix, unit value, material utilization and destination diversification. Compare whether rising output is accompanied by stable or improving value per unit. If export value falls faster than quantity, investigate product mix and pricing rather than assuming production volume itself is the only problem.

At the end of the 90-day cycle, the most useful dashboard will not contain one headline score. It will show a chain: raw material, processed leather, finished-goods output, export volume, export value and buyer concentration. That sequence makes it easier to see whether a change begins in supply, the factory, product mix or the market.

 

Metrics Pakistan Leather Manufacturers Should Track

Raw-material metrics should track hides and skins received, usable grades, preservation losses and yield into finished leather. National output provides scale context, but factory performance depends on how much incoming material reaches the intended grade. High downgrade or rejection rates can create volume without equivalent sellable output.

Tannery metrics should include upper-leather square meters, sole-leather output in the source-defined unit, processing cycle time, rework and grade yield. The PBS upper-leather series shows why area-based measurement is useful: it allows month-to-month output to be compared independently of the number of hides processed.

Finished-goods factories should track footwear pairs, apparel pieces or kilograms, cutting yield, defects, labor hours, order completion and final inspection results. Pair output is particularly important in footwear because the national Jul-Sep series already establishes a benchmark of 8.447 million pairs for the represented large-scale manufacturing data.

Export metrics should add destination, product code, physical quantity, value, derived unit value and top-market concentration. The difference between the Saudi-centered HS 640590 stream and the Netherlands-centered leather-upper stream shows how much destination structure can vary even within footwear. One consolidated export total would hide that risk.

Commercial metrics should include average order size, repeat-buyer rate, delivery performance and value per unit. None of these operational measures appear directly in the national dataset, but they are the factory-level variables needed to explain the movement seen in the trade statistics.

 

 

How Production Economics Change by Business Model

Raw-hide and skin suppliers operate at the beginning of the chain. Their economic performance depends on collection scale, preservation and grading. The national statistics show an expanding volume base, but commercial value depends on what proportion of the material reaches tanneries in usable condition. Their production objective is therefore quality-preserved throughput rather than sheer count alone.

Tanneries convert biological material into a standardized industrial input. Upper leather is especially important because it is the material basis for many footwear, apparel and accessory applications. The reported rise from 1.095 million square meters in July 2023 to 1.174 million in September gives a direct short-term example of measurable conversion output.

Footwear manufacturers work with unit volume. The national large-scale manufacturing data show about 2.8 million pairs per month in the July-September window. Export economics then differ by product: one selected line averages about $2.52 per pair while leather-upper footwear averages about $21.19. A footwear producer's business model therefore changes materially depending on whether it competes on high-volume basic categories or more valuable leather-upper products.

Leather-apparel manufacturers operate in a higher-value export line within the selected dataset. Their $239.09 million world export value substantially exceeds the footwear categories, while the market base is more geographically distributed. Production economics depend on material selection, cutting yield, garment complexity and buyer requirements, though those factory-level cost variables are outside the national statistics used here.

Exporters and brands sit closest to the destination market. Their role is to translate production into stable orders and market diversification. The data show why this matters: one footwear category is highly Saudi-centered, another is Netherlands-centered, while leather apparel has a broader mix led by Germany and the United States. Buyer strategy therefore feeds directly back into factory utilization and product planning.

 

The Pakistan Leather Goods Production Report FAQ

How large are the selected Pakistan leather-goods exports?

The three finished-goods lines in the dataset total about $273.47 million in 2023 exports. Leather apparel contributes $239.09 million, footwear under HS 640590 contributes $25.44 million, and leather-upper footwear under HS 640391 contributes $8.94 million. These figures are export values for selected lines, not a complete measure of all leather-goods production.

What are Pakistan's main leather-goods export categories in this dataset?

The trade dataset focuses on articles of apparel of leather under HS 420310, footwear not elsewhere specified under HS 640590, and footwear with rubber or plastic soles and leather uppers under HS 640391. Together they provide a useful view of apparel and footwear manufacturing, but they do not cover every possible leather product.

Which countries buy the most Pakistani leather apparel?

Germany is the largest destination in 2023 at $54.73 million, followed by the United States at $36.35 million and the Russian Federation at $23.66 million. The Netherlands, Spain, France and the United Kingdom are also major destinations. The top three markets account for about 48% of the product's reported world export value.

Which markets dominate footwear exports?

Saudi Arabia dominates HS 640590 footwear, accounting for about 72.9% of world export value and more than 86% of quantity. The Netherlands dominates leather-upper footwear under HS 640391 at about 62.7% of world export value. The different patterns show that destination concentration is highly product-specific.

How important is livestock to Pakistan's leather industry?

Livestock provides the biological raw-material base. In FY2025-26 the series records 91.8 million goats, 61.96 million cattle, 49.1 million buffalo and 33.5 million sheep. These figures establish potential supply context, while hides and skins output gives the more direct measure of material entering the leather chain.

How many hides and skins are produced?

Estimated total hides reach 21.426 million pieces in FY2025-26, while total skins reach 68.262 million. The detailed categories include 11.026 million cattle hides, 10.278 million buffalo hides, 35.372 million goat skins and 12.671 million sheep skins.

How is factory production measured?

The PBS manufacturing data include upper leather in thousand square meters, footwear in thousand pairs, sole leather in the source-defined quantity unit and an index for manufacturing of leather products. For Jul-Sep FY2023-24, upper leather totals 3.391 million square meters and footwear totals 8.447 million pairs.

Does export value equal domestic production?

No. Export value measures goods shipped to foreign markets and excludes domestic sales and inventory changes. It is a useful production-demand proxy for export-oriented goods, but direct production statistics such as footwear pairs and upper-leather square meters are stronger measures of factory output.

Why analyze quantity alongside value?

Physical quantity shows how much product is shipped, while value shows the commercial return. In Jul-Mar FY2024, tanned-leather value falls 20.6% while quantity falls only 3.4%. Footwear value falls 11.3% while quantity falls 1.7%. The gap shows why revenue alone can exaggerate or obscure changes in physical production.

What does value per pair or kilogram show?

It is a derived trade-unit measure calculated from export value divided by quantity. It helps compare product-market positioning, but it is not a retail price. In the selected 2023 data, leather-upper footwear averages about $21.19 per pair versus about $2.52 for HS 640590 footwear.

Where is the main production opportunity?

The statistics point to a large upstream base and active finished-goods manufacturing. The clearest opportunity is to convert more of that material into consistent higher-value products while broadening destination markets, because the selected footwear lines remain highly concentrated in single lead markets.

Final Takeaway

Pakistan's leather-goods production system begins with scale. FY2025-26 livestock numbers reach 91.8 million goats, 61.96 million cattle, 49.1 million buffalo and 33.5 million sheep. Raw-material output reaches 21.426 million hides and 68.262 million skins. These figures show that the country has a substantial domestic feedstock base across both hides and skins.

Industrial production confirms that this raw material is connected to active manufacturing. Upper leather output totals 3.391 million square meters in Jul-Sep FY2023-24, while footwear production totals 8.447 million pairs. The leather-products production index stands at 55.47 for the three-month period and reaches 56.40 in September. These measures provide a direct view of processing and factory activity that export values alone cannot supply.

Finished-goods trade then shows where production creates foreign-market value. Leather apparel leads the selected 2023 lines at $239.09 million and 1.439 million kilograms. HS 640590 footwear adds $25.44 million on more than 10 million pairs, while leather-upper footwear contributes $8.94 million on 421,969 pairs. Germany leads leather apparel, Saudi Arabia dominates HS 640590, and the Netherlands leads leather-upper footwear.

Pakistan clearly has leather-industry scale. The central question is how effectively livestock and hides become consistently processed leather, how efficiently factories convert it into finished goods, how much value each unit earns, and how diversified the customer base becomes. Production strengthens when raw-material growth, factory output, export volume, unit value and destination breadth improve together.