Trade

Pakistan footwear exports rise despite weakness in the leather segment

Jun 23, 2026 Pakistan

Exports of Pakistani footwear increased in the first eleven months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, driven by strong growth in the other footwear segment. Leather and canvas footwear continue to struggle

According to government data, Between July 2025 and May 2026, Pakistan shipped 21.9 million pairs of shoes, worth 166.4 million US dollars. This represents a 24.84% increase in volume and a 2.85% increase in value compared to the same period the previous year.

Although leather footwear remained the leading export category in terms of value during this period, its performance weakened. In the first ten months of the financial year, earnings from exports of leather footwear declined by 2.31% year-on-year to 122.62 million US dollars, while export volume fell by 0.13% year-on-year to 8.17 million pairs.

The canvas footwear segment is also underperforming. In the eleven months up to May, Pakistan exported 73 thousand pairs of shoes worth 1.45 million US dollars, reflecting respective decreases of 31.50% and 32.56% compared to fiscal year 2024-2025.

Meanwhile, the other footwear segment emerged as a bright spot. During this period, exports in this segment increased by 47.53% in volume, reaching 13.67 million pairs, and by 24.03% in value, reaching 42.33 million US dollars, compared to the first eleven months of the previous fiscal year.

It is also worth noting that the value of exports by the leather manufacturing sector totalled 535.78 million US dollars, representing a 2.69% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Meanwhile, tanned leather exports totalled 120.74 million US dollars, marking a 4.49% year-on-year decline.

Pakistan’s footwear industry

The Pakistani footwear industry employs over 2 million people and remains one of the world’s largest by production volume. However, according to the World Footwear 2025 Yearbook (more information available HERE) exports rank only 45th globally by value. Domestic demand dominates, with China being the top supplier. Valued at 5.8 billion US dollars, the market is growing steadily, supported by government incentives and rising interest from global retailers.

Image Credits: Abuzar Xheikh on Unsplash

Pakistan Exports Footwear International Trade Leather