Traceability in Bangladesh's Leather Value Chain: A Baseline Survey

This baseline survey examines the current state of traceability practices and the barriers to adopting traceability technologies within Bangladesh’s leather value chain, focusing on 16 participating organisations in the Leathertrace Bangladesh project cluster. The study assesses existing practices, organisational readiness, perceived benefits, barriers to adoption, and support needs in order to inform the design of an e-traceability system tailored to the Bangladeshi context. Findings show that traceability practices remain largely informal, fragmented, and heavily dependent on individual suppliers and local traders, with limited use of formal agreements or digital systems. While all surveyed firms are export-oriented and recognise traceability as critical for compliance with international sustainability regulations, market access, and customer trust, adoption is constrained by fragmented raw hide collection systems, unclear policy frameworks, inadequate infrastructure, limited technical expertise, and financial barriers.