Footwear export prospects signal a bright future.

The country's leading leather footwear maker Fortuna Bangladesh is eyeing to overrun Indian and Chinese markets, company source recently said.

The group plans to compete with the two Asian giants in footwear export for penetrating the European Union (EU) markets.

"Taking advantage of WTO's anti-dumping rules, orders from Germany, Italy, France, Canada, and Japan, are increasingly shifting to the Bangladeshi manufacturers," said Fayaz Taher, chief executive (manufacturing and retail division) of Fortuna Bangladesh.

The group is poised to set up a new factory spending Taka 560 million and raise its capacity from 2,500 to 6,000 pairs a day. It expects to earn foreign currency worth Tk 2.0 billion a year by exporting footwear.

Industry experts claimed that importers are seeking leather footwear from Bangladesh due to rising production costs and the World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s restrictive rules.

Besides, buyers from China are now coming to Bangladesh as their cost of labour is increasing. Similarly, many European buyers are also looking forward to take advantage of the duty-free export facility to the EU as an additional 16.5 per cent tax is levied on footwear exports from China.

"Countries like China and India are failing to produce high quality, low-cost leather items because of the WTO anti-dumping rules," experts said.

A traditional exporter of leather, Bangladesh exports six million pairs of shoes, 45 per cent of its products, every year.

In 2008-09 fiscal year, the country earned US$ 187 million by exporting footwear items. Setting its target at US$ 224.32 million for the fiscal year 2009-10, exporters have earned US$ 162 million during the July-April period. The export was a net 4.23 per cent growth compared to export during its previous corresponding period, EPB data revealed.

"I believe this will be the next garment industry for Bangladesh," Mr Taher said, referring to the country's highest export earner that netted US$ 19 billion last year.

Earlier, China, India and Vietnam were the largest leather shoe exporters.

The Fortuna group is also set to establish the country's first shoe mould manufacturing factory by September.

"We will manufacture plastic mould that is now being sourced from China and India. Once we attain the capability, it will help ensure a perfect shape of our shoes," he said.

At present, most local footwear companies are using wooden moulds that cannot ensure an accurate shape.


Source : The Financial Express