Bangladesh, July 6 -- Exporters and market analysts have found reason for optimism in the latest leather export figures, even as old problems at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate remain unresolved.

The sector earned $1.23 billion in the 2025-26 financial year, the third-highest in Bangladesh's history, and up 7.07 percent from the previous year.

Leather is the only sector besides ready-made garments to bring in more than a billion dollars in export earnings for Bangladesh, yet its progress has stalled due to a host of constraints.

It has been nearly a decade since tanneries relocated from Hazaribagh to Savar, where the tannery estate now stands, but the shift has yet to pay off.

With the estate still not fully ready, international ...