Footwear industry grows

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

The way forward for the Sri Lankan footwear Industry is to have more exposure with regard to technology, designs and trends in the global environment.

The local market has seen a steady growth and the footwear industry could become a significant player in the export sector with right inputs. The talents in the industry need to be showcased to attract orders and become a vibrant industry, Footwear Advisory Council Chairman Rangith Hettiarachchy told Daily News Business.

It is necessary to provide training to craftsmen to develop skills and harness potential to improve quality and quantity. The industry could be developed with trained human capital to cater to high end of the market, he said.

The industry will showcase its capabilities with the staging of the Footwear and Leather Goods Fair for the 4th Consecutive year from February 10 to 12. This event has already become a most looked after event in our industry calendar.

This year our fair has attracted 25 exhibitors from the Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers Association. Among these exhibitors there are some leading footwear component manufacturers in India. As Indian footwear industry has reached world standards this will be a very valuable opportunity for our industrialists to establish business relationships.

As Sri Lankan government has given all the support for local footwear producers to get them establish in the local market, an exhibition of this nature is encouraging. In return the local industrialist has reciprocated by up lifting there quality and fashion levels.

With the encouragement from the Export Development Board, the Ministry Of Industries and Industrial Development Board, all footwear industrialists will explore possibility to establish Sri Lanka as a leading destination for quality shoes at present.

The Finance Ministry will provide all support to commence a degree course in footwear designing. In addition already plans are in place to set up a footwear training centre with amalgamation of textile training Institute.

With this action plan we hope as footwear industrialists this year will be a launching year to expand our exports. Already our industrialist has saved valuable foreign exchange by catering to all segments of the footwear industry. As we have a limited market now it is time to get into exports, Hettiarachchy said.