Govt set to approve 10 leather parks to compete with China

21 May '07

3 min read

The former Council for Leather Exports (CLE) chairman Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed Said, " China has got a big share of US leather imports because of capacity building. China initiated capacity building about 15 years ago. We need to build capacity. We are expecting the government's nod for these parks in six months.

The focus, he added, would be on non-US markets. "We cannot compete with China and other nations as far as the US market is concerned. US importers place bulk orders. Our focus is on European' markets where orders are smaller and demand variety is more. But this would not work for a very long time. Therefore, capacity building is essential."

PricewaterhouseCoopers senior economist, Mr. S P Sharma said, "Government initiatives like focussed product schemes and special focus on leather and footwear have benefited exporters in big way, but capacity building is the need of the hour. Since foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent on the automatic route is already permitted in all segments of the leather industry, foreign investors would be interested in investing in these parks.”

Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI)

More Footwear Design & Development Institute News... More Textiles News - India...