President General Pervez Musharraf recently inaugurated an effluent treatment plant at Korangi Industrial Estate, Karachi. Built at a cost of Rs500 million, this plant is expected to give a boost to an otherwise ailing industry. It will cater to about 200 large and small tanneries in the area.
The industry has attracted a lot of negative media attention for causing environmental hazards. Employing more than 200,000 persons, the industry nevertheless contributes 5% to the GDP and about 7% to export earnings. There are more than 2,500 tanneries, leather garments and shoe making factories mainly clustered in Kasur, Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot.
With an assured supply of about 50 million hides and skins that include 20 million from the slaughtered animals during just three days of Eid ul Azha (a Muslim religious festival) every year, the tannery industry developed as a thriving business. However, in more recent years they have been hit by the changing face of retail business in Europe and the USA which demands not only the best quality at the lowest possible prices, but also social compliance.
