Raza Khan

Pakistan’s footwear industry has an export potential worth billions of dollars if it is provided with government incentives, said Hamza Hafeez, Vice Chairman of Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Association (PFMA). “A gradual increase in footwear exports has been observed during the recent years, which is encouraging for the exporters and for the country as well,” Hafeez told WealthPK.

He said footwear exports can be enhanced by multiple times if an incentive package is provided by the government. He said the incentive package may include exemption of taxes on import of raw material. “The industry needs uninterrupted electricity at a reasonable price to make our products more competitive,” Hafeez said.

“In return, we can earn huge amount of foreign exchange for the country,” Hafeez said. The PFMA vice chairman informed that the footwear industry in Pakistan has the capacity of producing 400 million pairs per annum. “At least 70 footwear manufacturing companies in Pakistan are getting export orders,” Hafeez said, adding that the major export item is leather-made footwear.

“Leather-made footwear are specialty of Pakistan,” he said, adding that canvas footwear were also being exported, but in less quantity.  He suggested that the government departments relevant to the footwear manufacturing industry should be efficient and more cooperative. “Pakistan’s diplomatic missions abroad should help us in marketing our products,” he suggested.

Hafeez said Pakistan’s footwear exports increased by 20% during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year (2022-23) despite decline in exports of other products. According to the PFMA, the bulk of the exports, about 80%, are leather shoes in the medium price range of $9-12, which are very competitive in the international market.

Pakistan exports footwear to more than 60 countries, including the UK, France, the Netherlands and Germany in Europe, and Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the Middle East. According to Pakistan Business Council (PBC), Pakistan is the seventh largest producer of footwear, manufacturing more than 2% of all footwear produced worldwide. It is also the seventh largest consumer of footwear, accounting for 2.2% of global consumption.

According to Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s footwear exports increased by 20% during the first eight months (July-February) of 2022-23 compared to the same period of last fiscal year. The country’s footwear exports were recorded at $124.473 million during July-February against $103.737 million during the corresponding months of last fiscal year.

In terms of quantity, Pakistan’s footwear exports grew by 37.80% during the period under review. The exports rose to 16.395 million pairs during the first eight months of 2022-23 from 11.897 million pairs during the corresponding period of 2021-22. Leather-made footwear remained dominant with the exports of $101.281 million during the period under review against $83.211 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal year, registering a growth of 21.72%. The exports of footwear other than leather and canvas grew by 14.35% during July-February to $22.652 million from $19.809 million during the corresponding months of last year. 

The PFMA Chairman Mansoor Ehsan said in an interview that the footwear industry wants to collaborate with Chinese manufacturers and establish joint ventures in the proposed economic zones to be created along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “This initiative can boost Pakistan’s footwear exports and improve labour skills and productivity,” Ehsan said. He informed that the footwear industry had reduced its imports share substantially during last three years.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk