India's Leather and Footwear Exports Could Reach $5.5 Billion in 2026-27, CLE Chairman Says

Exports of leather, footwear and allied products from India could reach $5.5 billion in 2026-27, a year-on-year increase of about 12%, Council for Leather Exports (CLE) chairman Ramesh Kumar Juneja said. His remarks were reported from New Delhi on 16 September by the news agency PTI.

A 12% growth target

The projection treats leather, footwear and ancillary or component products as a single export basket rather than as separate product lines, according to PTI. The CLE is the export promotion council for the sector under India's commerce ministry, and its projections are followed by tanners, footwear manufacturers, component suppliers and overseas buyers as an indication of how much output the industry expects to place in foreign markets.

Two elements of the statement matter for planning purposes. The first is the level: $5.5 billion is presented as a figure exports could reach, not one already secured. The second is the pace: 12% on an annual basis is a double-digit rate that has to be delivered in shipments, not in intent. India's financial year 2026-27 runs from April 2026 to March 2027, so the projection covers a period already under way rather than a distant horizon.

What the figure implies

The two numbers are linked by arithmetic. A 12% annual increase ending at $5.5 billion implies a base of roughly $4.9 billion in the preceding year, and about $600 million of additional shipments within twelve months. PTI's report does not state the base-year value, the split between finished leather, footwear and components, or the destination markets the council expects to drive the increase.

For companies along the chain, a double-digit export target rests on three assumptions:

• demand: orders from the main buying markets have to grow fast enough to absorb the extra volume, since export councils cannot create end-consumer demand;
• capacity: tanning, footwear assembly and component supply need to expand together, because sustained double-digit growth is rarely achievable from existing lines alone;
• market access: tariff treatment, certification and compliance requirements in destination markets shape landed costs for importers and decide whether Indian suppliers win contracts on price.

What the report leaves open

The account of Juneja's comments carried by PTI does not include volumes, unit prices, employment numbers or investment commitments, and it names no destination markets. It also does not set out the policy support, if any, that the council considers necessary to reach the target, nor whether the 12% rate is expected to be uniform across leather, footwear and components. Footwear and finished leather typically answer to different buyers and order cycles, so a single headline rate can mask divergent performance inside the basket.

For importers and sourcing teams, the practical reading is narrower than the headline. A council projection is a statement of industry intent, informed by the visibility exporters have into their own order books, but it is not a contracted pipeline. Buyers negotiating 2026-27 contracts can take it as a signal that Indian suppliers expect to have volume available and are positioning for growth; competing suppliers in other producing countries can read it as an indication that Indian exporters intend to bid actively for share. Confirmation will come from India's monthly trade data and from any product-wise breakdown the CLE publishes alongside the target.