Limited availability of cattle for slaughter in India despite "the abundantly available natural resource" is leading to loss of potential comparative advantage for the country's leather and footwear industry in the export market, according to the Economic Survey.
It is estimated that cattle-based global exports dominate buffalo-based exports by a factor of 8-9, said the 2016-17 report card of the state of the economy tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament today.
The leather and footwear industry uses raw hides and skins of a number of animals like cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep and other smaller animals as its chief raw material.
"Amongst these, leather made from cattle hides has greater global demand owing to its strength, durability and superior quality," it added.
However, despite having a large cattle population, India's share of global cattle population and exports of cattle hides is low and declining, the survey said.
"This trend can be attributed to the limited availability of cattle for slaughter in India, thereby leading to loss of a potential comparative advantage due to underutilisation of the abundantly available natural resource," it said.
According to the Survey, India's share of global exports of cattle hides and skins was less than 0.1 per cent in 2013, down from nearly 0.4 per cent in 2008.
In terms of global share of Indian cattle population, it has come down to just above 12.8 per cent in 2013 from nearly 15.8 per cent in 1991.
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