Saddlery & Harness – A Note

Global Scenario:

The global imports of saddlery & harness had increased from US$ 1141.66 mn in 2008 to US$ 1224.94 mn in 2012, growing at a CAGR of 1.77%. A Statement showing global import of saddlery & harness viz-a-vis India’s export and share during 2008 to 2012 is given below.

(Value in Million US$)

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
WORLD IMPORT	1141.57	990.99	1096.16	1236.78	1224.94
INDIA'S EXPORT	92.15	83.39	87.92	107.54	110.41
% SHARE OF INDIA	8.07%	8.41%	8.02%	8.69%	9.01%

Source: ITC, Geneva

Major importing countries of Saddlery & Harness:

(Value in Million US$)

Country	2008	2012
USA	372.25	408.96
Germany	110.25	125.68
UK	75.5	71.67
France	73.89	69.46
Canada	50.49	58.82
Japan	47.57	53.03
Netherlands	34.66	42.79
Australia	29.5	41.96
Belgium	30.69	35.28
Italy	35.79	33.7
Sweden	37.89	30.68
Switzerland	25.57	23.76
Spain	24.92	23.57

Source: ITC, Geneva

These 13 countries together accounts for a share of 83.21% in global saddlery & harness import.

Top Exporting countries of Saddlery & Harness:

(Value in Mn$)

Country	2008	2012
China	209.88	415.31
Germany	132.4	137.53
India	92.15	110.41
USA	54.6	57.26
Italy	51.45	50.88
France	51.06	47.36
Netherlands	15.22	46.24
Taiwan	36.99	43.2
UK	44.47	41.33
Ireland	24.4	25.9
Belgium	16.77	21.33
Hong Kong	23.00	19.92
Vietnam	13.4	19.75
Argentina	15.62	13.69

Source: ITC, Geneva

Indian Scenario:

Harness & Saddlery goods are being manufactured in Kanpur for more than 100 years. The Saddlery manufacturing started in the 19th century at the British Indian Corporation in its Copper Alan branch in Kanpur and simultaneously the British Government started the Ordinance Equipment Factory at Kanpur to cater to the needs of the Army. The craft of making saddlery was imparted to the local artisans by the master saddlers brought from the UK, whose generations now formed the workforce of the present industry.

By virtue of Kanpur’s specialization in vegetable tanned buffalo hides, and due to the presence of trained manpower, this has become the most important centre for manufacture of saddlery goods in India. In fact, Kanpur is the only centre in India which produces the harness & saddlery goods. Almost all the units operating in Kanpur are 100% export-oriented.

Indian Saddlery and Harness industry is now becoming globally competitive and brand dominated, awash with designs. India is positioned as the third largest exporter of Saddlery & Harness to the world, accounting for a share of 9.01% in the global saddlery import of US$ 1224.94 million.

Indian Saddlery and Harness products are gaining an ever-increasing recognition in the highly competitive global saddlery & harness leather arena. Estimated production capacity of the Saddlery & Harness industry in India is 12.50 million pieces per annum. Technology, work craftsmanship, product quality are the hallmarks of the Indian Saddlery & Harness industry.

The major production clusters for Saddlery & Harness are Kanpur, Delhi etc.

The different categories of Saddlery & Harness exported from India are Saddles / Bridles, Harness and Other Saddlery items.

A Statement showing India’s export of Saddlery & Harness:

(Value in Million US$)

2006-07	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
82.33	92.15	83.39	87.92	107.54	110.41	145.54

Source: DGCI& S

During 2013-14, India’s export of Saddlery & Harness touched US$ 145.54 million, accounting for a share of 2.46% in India’s total export from leather sector (US$ 5908.82 mn).

Major Markets:

The major markets of Indian Saddlery & Harness are Germany with a share of 20.82%, USA 18.12%, UK 11.25%, France 9.08%, Australia 7.21%, Netherlands 6.81%, Sweden 5.46%, Belgium 4.39%, Canada 2.34%, Denmark 1.88%, Spain 1.91%, Italy 3.00%.

(Value in Million US$)

Countries	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Germany	19.67	18.02	18.45	22.18	22.32	30.31
USA	11.31	10.06	11.38	13.77	16.63	26.37
UK	9.08	9.31	8.64	11.15	13.39	16.37
Italy	3.43	3.62	3.73	4.01	2.93	4.38
France	8.54	7.58	6.31	6.16	8.92	13.22
Spain	3.07	1.88	2.4	2.34	2.49	2.79
Netherlands	6.12	5.42	5.65	6.48	7.02	9.91
Australia	4.48	5.37	5.88	9.12	7.7	10.5
Denmark	3.13	2.51	2.95	3.09	3.12	2.74
Canada	2.45	2.31	2.55	2.97	3.58	3.41
Sweden	5.93	5	5.65	5.98	6.69	7.95
Belgium	4.67	4.15	6.15	9.15	5.19	6.4
New Zealand	1.05	1.23	1.12	1.34	1.48	1.34

Source: DGCI& S

Quantity-wise export of Harness & Saddlery : (In pcs)

Category	2012-13
Non-Leather Harness/saddlers/bridles	7,646,951
Saddlers / Bridles	3,804,296
Harness	3,650,065
Total	15,101,312

Source: CLE Membership Records

Region-wise export of Harness & Saddlery : (In pcs)

REGION	2012-13
Central	14,872,248
North	229,058
Total	15,101,312

Source: CLE Membership Records