Footwear, leather products industry gains momentum

Dulshani Gunawardena

With the lowered interest rates and improved policy measures, the country’s leather and footwear industry is undergoing major expansion and is ready to enter the international market, Export Development and International Trade Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said.

Prof. Peiris was speaking at the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Footwear and Leather Products Trade Fair yesterday. The fair, showcasing a variety of footwear and leather products, will continue until tomorrow at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike International Exhibition Centre.

It is organized in collaboration with the Export Development and International Trade Ministry, Rural Development Ministry and Industrial Development Ministry.

Prof. Peiris said, following the dawn of peace, Sri Lanka was back in the radar of international economy, with many foreign investors eager to invest. The Government has identified footwear and leather products as having the potential to be a trusted industry, the benchmark for being an income exceeding one billion yearly. Currently only the apparel and tea industries fulfill such a criteria.

Prof. Peiris said the major hindrance to the country’s development used to be the high interest rates applied, rendering the profits gained minimal. Under the concepts of the Mahinda Chinthana, interest levels have been lowered to one figure values, opening up possibilities for rapid expansion.

There are seven large scale footwear and leather products factories islandwide, with 30 and 3,000 medium and small scale factories. It being hard for Sri Lanka to compete with larger countries in terms of quantity, special emphasis should be placed on quality.

Addressing this issue Industrial Development Minister Kumara Welgama said the Ministry has undertaken the training of twenty footwear designers and plans to open a footwear design school in the future.

Local producers of raw material have been encouraged to sell their products locally, making it both beneficial for buyers and sellers. All these measures have led to the quality of the goods improving and there has been a significant decrease in leather and footwear imports during the past year.

Rural Industries and Self Employment Promotion Minister, S.B. Nawinna urged producers to make the maximum benefit of the rapid economic revolution.

An award presentation for prominent entrepreneurs in the field was also held as well as the presentation of three booklets, including the Sri Lanka Directory of Exporters 2010-2011.