Dhaka, May 24 -- The leather industry is facing mounting pressure from rising financial costs, weak infrastructure and policy bottlenecks, prompting fresh calls for urgent government intervention to revive one of the country's most promising export sectors.

Experts and business leaders at a discussion on Saturday warned that the industry risks falling deeper into crisis unless long-standing structural problems are addressed quickly.

They said the leather and leather goods sector has the potential to generate annual trade worth US$25 billion to US$30 billion if supported by coordinated reforms, modern infrastructure and export-friendly policies.

They observed that Bangladesh could emerge as a major global leather sourcing hub with timel...