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Sunday Nov 17, 2024
Monday, 10 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
“I am pleased to inform you today that this successful event has generated $ 30,592 of spot sales, $ 3.82 m investment inquiries with the BoI and a strong visitor attendance of more than 15,000 families,” said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday, addressing the awards ceremony of the sixth edition of the Footwear & Leather Fair. 
D. Samson Industries collected the biggest bundle of awards for innovative shoe designs by its young designers yesterday.
An interesting aspect of the event was the ‘special awards’ for industry pioneers – including P.G.B. Nimalasiri (who started PG Martin & Co), Mohammed Kabeer (who pioneered Sinwa), Kulatunga Rajapaksa (pioneered DSI), Sinnaiah Sivarajasinham, Sri Ramakumar Kanagarajan, Nimal Samarakkody, Nishamdeen Hafeef, Shaul Hameed (special award) and K.P. Karunadasa.
International participants from Egypt, France, Korea, Kenya, Germany and Seychelles, a delegation from Iran, 19 Indian exhibitors from Indian Footwear Component Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) and one Chinese exhibitor took part in the sixth event, which was first held in 2007.
The sixth edition, organised by the Export Development Board, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Industrial Development Board and the Sri Lanka Footwear and Leather Products Manufacturers’ Association (SLFLPMA), is the international level platform for Lankan footwear and leather product exporters, manufacturers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to showcase their talents and capabilities locally and globally.
When the three-day exposition at BMICH concluded on 9 Sunday, it packed events such as a designer award ceremony, an exclusive fashion show and a stall competition.
“Our footwear and leather exports have shown a record growth trend. In 2012, exports from this sector stood at $ 30 m but now it has registered a remarkable 63% increase in 2013 to $ 51 m. This is supportive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s export goal of $ 20 b by 2020,” said Bathiudeen.
“More than $ 8,400 of orders are under negotiation with India and Italy. $ 11,800 of inquiries for orders were also received while $ 8,800 local orders are under negotiation. During this event, we also saw strong international buyer interest in our footwear and leather products. This is an indication of the international recognition for our sector. At this moment, even as I speak to you, many international buyer delegations are visiting our factories and inspecting our products. This recognition is due to our quality and capacities. Our manufacturers can design, fit and assemble a wide range of footwear including men and women’s casual shoes, fashion shoes, children’s shoes and industrial footwear. In fact, we believe that to meet faster global fashion trends, it is time we upgrade the sector with new technology concepts such as ‘just in time,’ computer aided design and computer numerical control systems to introduce new designs faster. This allows the industry to adopt ‘just in time’ practices to respond to global fashion trends and customer demands faster.
“This sector has been identified by the Industry and Commerce Ministry as a thrust industry for development. Accordingly, the Ministry has taken many initiatives to safeguard the local manufacturers and also to develop and promote exports. To recognise and encourage this sector, we are also giving them many awards today – gold and silver awards among them – for design and stall presentation. During the event, several technologies used by large-scale manufacturers were introduced to small-scale producers as well. As you may have already seen, this year’s event has a bigger focus on shoe making machinery suppliers and component part suppliers.”
