Leather is one of the most widely traded commodities in the world and India enjoys a thriving leather industry which accounts for nigh on 13% of all leather manufactured globally. The country ranks second in terms of footwear and leather garments production in the world and accounts for around 9% of global footwear production. Consequently, there is a huge leather market in India and across the world that depends on the production and consumption of leather chemicals.

The process of turning a raw material into a finished leather good starts encompasses three major steps that can essentially be called the leather processing operations. From extraction of the skin or hide of the animal, beam house process, wet-end process and finishing process are applied (the later three involve leather processing operations) at which point the raw skin/hide becomes a finished leather good. All three of these leather processing operations require leather chemicals in some way, shape or form. Lubrication agents, chromium sulphate, lime, dyes auxiliary chemicals, ammonium sulphate, formic acid are some of the very many chemicals used in these processes.

The organized leather market is a hotbed of competition with a number of big companies fighting each other for a larger slice of the pie. TechSci Research report “India Leather Chemicals Market, 2026” identifies no less than 6 major and several minor players in the mix. Stahl India Pvt. Ltd., Lanxess India Pvt. Ltd., TFL Quinn India Pvt. Ltd., Indofil Industries Limited, Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. Much of the operation of these companies is based in the South, where Tamil Nadu is a leading supplier of leather, in the North with Uttar Pradesh as the leading demand generator and in the East with West Bengal acting as a major hub.

In spite of dampening global demand for leather, TechSci Research predicts a good long term forecast for the India leather chemicals industry going up to 2026. While there are certain challenges, such as the easy availability of genuine leather exports, and the rising trend of chrome free tanning, environmental and political issues, indigenous and external demand for leather products is still expected to pick up in the future. With that being a case, demand for leather chemicals in India and China, the world’s two largest producers, will also rise. Major demand for leather chemicals is estimated to come from developing countries, which form the backbone of the global leather industry. 

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