 Leather products of Bangladesh are acquiring firm footing in the US footwear market, a multimillion dollar market, as due to the economic slowdown US importers are shifting to competitive priced products.
A 112 percent surge has been recorded in shoe exports from Bangladesh to the US during first six months the ongoing year. This export escalation helped local shoe-makers to recover their sales that slipped due to the impact of recession in European markets.
As per Bangladesh Footwear and Leather Goods Exporters Association, during aforesaid period, Bangladesh shipped over twice the numbers of footwear to the US market compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Major US retailers such as Macys or Bostonian and giant wholesalers like Genesco have started placing orders for Bangladesh’s leather products. The local manufacturers are generating noteworthy business from American markets.
Relocations of manufacturing facilities by some Taiwanese and Chinese shoe-manufacturers in Bangladesh may also, be one of the factors, to attract US importers towards leather items of Bangladesh, who rate these products high.
America is the world’s largest footwear market, which imported $19.07 billion worth of footwear, last year, including $11.34 billion worth of leather shoes. China is the major exporter to this market, which holds around two-third’s of the market share, whereas, Vietnam, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil and India are the other key suppliers.
But, as per the latest data, shoe imports from China, Italy, Brazil and Thailand are in tumbling mode while the countries such as Philippines, Cambodia and Bangladesh are witnessing rise in this direction during recent months.
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