Pakistan Leather Exports: Hides, Garments & Footwear — the Other Half of 63%

Leather rarely gets the headlines, but combined with textiles it forms ~63% of Pakistan’s merchandise exports ($18.98B). This guide covers the leather chain: tanneries, garments, footwear and gloves.

The leather chain

Pakistan’s leather industry starts with the country’s huge livestock base — hides and skins from cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep. Tanneries cluster in Sialkot, Karachi, Kasur and Multan, turning raw hides into finished leather. Downstream: garments (jackets), footwear, gloves (industrial and fashion) and small leather goods. Sialkot’s glove makers supply safety-glove markets worldwide.

Products & markets

• Finished leather: sold to manufacturers in Italy, China and Vietnam.
• Leather garments: jackets to the EU and USA.
• Footwear: leather shoes and boots — a growing value-added line.
• Gloves: Sialkot’s industrial gloves are a quiet global leader.

Why growth stalled

The $18.98B textile-leather bloc recorded almost no growth in FY26. Leather’s drags: environmental compliance (tanneries face EU REACH-chemical scrutiny), raw-hide price volatility, competition from synthetic alternatives, and the same energy costs hitting textiles. The path up is the same as textiles’: finished goods over raw hides. The basket context: major exports hub.

Leather exports: FAQs

How big are Pakistan’s leather exports?

Leather plus textiles totalled $18.98B in FY26 — ~63% of merchandise exports.

Where are Pakistan’s tanneries?

Sialkot, Karachi, Kasur and Multan.

What leather products does Pakistan export?

Finished leather, garments (jackets), footwear and gloves.

Why aren’t leather exports growing?

EU chemical-compliance costs, hide-price volatility, synthetics competition and high energy costs.