A lawmaker urged support for the domestic leather industry.

The senator noted that processing enterprises are operating at only 6–26% of their capacity. Out of the 2.5 million hides of cattle produced in 2023, only 8% were sent for processing, while the majority of the raw material remains unprocessed.

A similar situation exists in the wool processing industry: out of 13 enterprises, only 4 are operational.

“Urgent measures are needed to develop the industry: the development of national quality standards, the implementation of modern technologies, infrastructure development, and the provision of subsidies for small and medium-sized businesses. These steps will help restore processing enterprises and unlock their economic potential. The leather and wool processing industries have a high potential for increasing export revenues and diversifying Kazakhstan's economy, so their development should become one of the priority tasks,” said Arubayev.