ABSTRACT
Industrialization is the basic need for sustained economic growth for developing countries. Among the industries, leather industry occupies a place of prominence in the Indian economy in view of its massive potential for employment, growth, and exports. The recent developments in science and technology place this industry at the top-most level with a tremendous increase in production. Approximately 23 billion square feet of leather is produced worldwide per year and the total value is estimated as > US$70 billion (Ramasamy et al., 1999; Anonymous, 2011). The major leather production centers in the world are located in Mexico, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Pakistan. Korea, Japan, and Italy import hides from countries that have a large meat production industry, that is, the United States, Australia, and the European countries, whereas the South American countries, for example, Argentina and Brazil, process their own hides. Leather industry is prevalent in Brazil, especially in the state Rio Grande do Sul, where, more than 50% of Brazilian leather is produced (Basegio et al., 2002).
