Sri Lanka soars to No. 3 in South Asia’s leather and footwear industry

With Sri Lankan leather and footwear industry giants lauding the Government for “continuous and ongoing support” to the sector, Sri Lanka has climbed to the rank of third largest exporter of leather and footwear to the surging South Asian market.

“When it comes to South Asian intra-regional footwear and leather exports, I am pleased to say that we claim the third place with 16% of the region’s total exports, closely following leaders India and Bangladesh. It is also estimated that the region’s leather market potential is more than $ 2.5 b, three times of the actual trade levels, which is encouraging news for our manufacturers. We believe that increased value addition in this sector can bridge this huge gap to a great extent,” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday. He was addressing the inauguration event of three-day long fifth Leather and Footwear Show.

The event was inaugurated by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, in the presence of Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda and Bathiudeen.

The event series, which is increasingly gaining international attention has been organised by the Industry and Commerce Ministry’s EDB, with co-sponsoring from the Industrial Development Board of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Ministry.

Apart from local exhibitors, industry reps from India, Bangladesh, Poland, Iraq, Jordan and South Africa are keenly promoting their leather and footwear in Colombo this year at the Leather and Footwear Show 2013.



Sri Lanka...

“Sri Lanka has successfully taken part in the first-ever Leather Industry Association of South Asia sessions by UNCTAD, held in Chennai. This UNCTAD-facilitated forum was the first industry-specific association to be formulated in South Asia. The inclusion of Sri Lanka in these pioneering sessions shows that our leather and footwear industry has clearly established its reputation as a key supplier in the region’s $ 2.5 b leather market as well as supply chain. Our leather and footwear exports in 2012, stood at $ 31 m, increasing by 3.3%, in comparison to 2011,” Bathiudeen said.

“We also believe that a new growth driver is likely to enter the leather and footwear sector in addition to the already well known growth driver – the global fashion industry. The new driver is our rapidly developing automotive sector, which has been further enhanced in 2012 by the entry of the Chinese multinational Geely Automobiles. Automotives hold great promise as a ready buyer of our high quality leather. As per the fashion sector, Marks & Spencer, HH Browns and Nike are some of the global fashion giants which have been sourcing from Sri Lanka’s leather tanneries for the past few years.”

“My Ministry has taken many initiatives to revive this sector in Jaffna,” revealed Minister Devananda, addressing the event. “Under the farsighted vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka has the potential to become a leader in this industry.”

Sri Lanka’s leather and footwear industry lauded the Government for the ongoing support received to develop the sector. “With gratitude as L&F manufacturers, we salute the Government for the measures taken,” said Sithendra Senaratne, MD of Ceylon Leather Products PLC and Chairman of the Event Organising Committee, addressing the event.

“The reduction of import duties relevant to this sector, including machineries, has created new opportunities for not only large and medium scale enterprises but even cottage industries to enter this sector. The industry grew because of the continuous support of the EDB, IDB and Ministry of Industry and Commerce,” Sithendra added.