Building BusinessServices

Section 14

Leather footwear

India’s exports: 1,946.86 US$ million · 2025-26 (provisional)

HS codes
2
top markets
5

How to start

  1. Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT online; it is free and linked to your PAN.
  2. Register with the Council for Leather Exports and get your RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate) through the DGFT e-RCMC system.
  3. Start with uppers or a single product (sandals, Kolhapuri chappals, safety shoes) for an importer’s private label.
  4. Use CLE fairs and the India International Leather Fair to meet buyers.

Top buyer countries

  1. United States362.99 US$ million · 2025-26
  2. United Kingdom221.07 US$ million · 2025-26
  3. Germany212.29 US$ million · 2025-26
  4. Netherlands130.52 US$ million · 2025-26
  5. Italy92.83 US$ million · 2025-26

Certificates and registrations

  • CLE RCMC
  • Restricted-substance tests (chromium VI, azo dyes, PCP) under EU REACH and buyer lists
  • Leather Working Group (LWG) rated tannery for leather supply, asked by brands

Watch out for

  • Sizing and last (shoe-mould) standards differ between the US and Europe.
  • Tannery pollution rules can shut supply in clusters.

Businesses in the encyclopedia

Handmade Shoe Making and Repair →Footwear & Leather Goods Unit →Injection-Moulded Leather Shoes (PVC Sole) →

Sources (3)
  1. TradeStat, Department of Commerce — Export: Principal Commodity-wise, April–March 2026 (provisional), US$ million — row "G2, FOOTWEAR OF LEATHER"
  2. TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise all countries export, HS 6403, 2025-26, US$ million · 2025-26
  3. HBP Appendix 2T — List of EPCs / Commodity Boards (DGFT), via research/export-import.json · 2023