The 29th edition of the India International Leather Fair (IILF) is being organized by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai from January 31 to February 03, 2014.

Being the biggest specialized leather show in the South – Asian region, the event has become a highly favoured destination in the scheduled of global buyers and suppliers.

Spread in an area of 9246 sq.mtrs., demand for space among exhibitors exceeds this space available. Hence, temporary halls and hangers have been created to accommodate additional space. However, ITPO could accommodate only 287 Indian Companies, 92 foreign firms and six Indian agents of overseas companies in this edition of IILF. Any foreign company reaching out to the Indian market understands the importance of the participation in this show. Some of the important names in leather industry namely, Armani, British Home Stores, Braciliani, Bata, Bugatti, Daniel Hector, Diechmann, Cole Hann, Guess, Harrods, Kenet, Cole, Marks and Spencers, Marco Polo, Maarc, Mercedezr, Nike, Pierre, Cardin, Reebok, Tommy, Walmart, etc. are participating in IILF 2014.
National pavilions set up are by Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy and Thailand. Individual overseas exhibitors are from Bangladesh, Iran, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherland, Turkey, UAE and UK.

There is a shift in product profile of the fairs over the years and reflects the dynamics of the industry. The fastest growing segments in IILF are machinery, chemicals, components and effluents.
The fair, being B-2-B, last year 9299 buyers visited including 351 from 31 countries.
This year, ‘Equilibrium’, the theme of the fair will highlight Indian expertise in the design development of exquisite and high quality leather ware from finished leather through leather products.
India is emerging as the centre for design development initiatives by institutions and individuals, continuous modernization and technology upgradation, economic size of manufacturing units, constant human resource development programme to enhance productivity, increasing use of quality components, shorter prototype development time, delivery compliance and growing domestic market for footwear and leather articles.
The Leather Industry, the second largest employer has changed over the years. Now India boasts of having world class social and environment audited factories producing goods for the top brands of the world. Their search for better technologies , machinery, chemicals and components is met by the exhibitors of the IILF.
The Leather industry is an employment intensive sector, producing job to about 2.5 million people, mostly from the weaker sections of the society. Women employment is predominant in leather products sector with about 30% share.
Though India is the second largest producer of footwear and leather garments in the world, India accounts for a share of 3.05% in the global leather import trade of US$ 159.89 billion (2011).

The major production centers for leather and leather products in India are located in Tamil Nadu – Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Vellore, Pernambut, Trichy, Dindigul and Erode ; West Bengal – Kolkata; Uttar Pradesh – Kanpur, Agra, Noida, Saharanpur; Maharashtra – Mumbai; Punjab – Jallandhar ; Karnataka – Bangalore; Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad ; Haryana – Ambala, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal and Faridabad ; Delhi; Madhya Pradesh – Dewas ; Kerala – Calicut and Ernakulam / Cochin .
Website : www.iilfleatherfair.com