Tehran to host 1st Intl. leather exhibition

Tehran, Nov 15, IRNA - The 1st International Leather Industry, Bag, Shoes and Related Industries Exhibition will be held in Tehran Nov. 17-20 with the presence of scores of domestic and foreign factories, workshops, companies and production units at the permanent site of Tehran International Fair Ground. In this exhibition, in addition to domestic producers, some other countries such as Italy, Turkey, China, Iraq, Germany and France are also present and put their latest leather products and related industries on display. During the 1st International Leather Industry, Bag, Shoes and Related Industry Exhibition over 135 companies will participate in the event while presence of a 40-member Italian trade delegation is one of the important economic and trade events in this regard. Although this is the first exhibition which is being held in the field of leather industry however it has been accorded a warm welcome and so far over five thousand square meters of the exhibition ground has been allocated to it. Leather has been considered as luxury goods since the past and for this reason world known brands and big trademarks use leather for their products. Iran with a background of three thousand years is the first and oldest leather producer in the world. Ancient works remaining from pre-Christianity era indicate that Iranian used skin for making clothes, shoes and weaponry. The first leather factory started work in Hamedan in 1312 (1933) and the second in Tabriz in 1314 (1935). Currently Iran is the third country in the production of skin and exporter of semi-processed products. Iran is one of the greatest suppliers of tanning industry in the world in the field of light leather. Some 85% of Iran’s entire exports of skin are in the form of pickles and wet blue which are semi-processed products and gain about $200 million annually./end