The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia has taken the initiative to extend the ban on the export of semi-finished leather products for a period of 6 months. The measure is intended to prevent a critical shortage of leather resources in the domestic market. These resources are important because of the need to meet the needs of the state defense order at the expense of domestic raw materials and materials, as well as for the execution of the Cabinet resolution, which prohibits public procurement of a number of foreign light industry goods.

For the first time, this ban was introduced on October 1, 2014 and was extended every 6 months due to an acute shortage of leather resources against the background of a continuing decline in the number of livestock, as indicated in the explanation to the project.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia and Rosstat, the trend towards a decrease in the number of cattle in 2018 remains, respectively, and the leather resources are decreasing. In the absence of a temporary ban on the export of semi-finished leather, up to 30% of the best resources were exported, creating a shortage of raw materials, especially in the segment of leather production for the needs of the defense order. At the same time, due to the transition of all Russian law enforcement agencies to new types of shoes with uppers made of natural, facial leather, the need for these resources has increased by 1.5 times compared to 2013.

"Without the introduction of restriction measures, high-quality semi-finished products will be exported from the territory of the Russian Federation, therefore, the only measure in the current conditions is a temporary restriction of exports," the explanatory note to the initiative says.

The draft Resolution was developed as part of the implementation of the state program "Development of industry and increasing its competitiveness".

Source: Soyuzlegprom

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