“I am pleased!” – Rishad

Spot sales totaling $30592 (Rs 04 Million), $3.82 Mn investment inquiries and a strong attendance are among the outcomes at the EDB’s sixth int’l Footwear and Leather Fair in Colombo. The sixth edition of Footwear and Leather Fair that began on 07 February at BMICH, came to a close today 09 February evening after a roaring three day display. “I am pleased to inform you today that this successful event has generated $30,592 of spot sales, $3.82 Mn investment inquiries with BoI and a strong visitor attendance of more than 15000 families” said a satisfied Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry and Commerce) on 09 February in Colombo.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the awards ceremony of the sixth edition of Footwear and Leather Fair of 09 February evening. The three day event was inaugurated on 07 February at BMICH, Colombo. D Samson Industries collected the biggest bundle of awards for innovative shoe designs by its young designers at the 09 February event. An interesting aspect of the event was the “special awards” for Industry pioneers –including PGB 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 KP Karunadasa.

International participants from Egypt, France, Korea, Kenya, Germany, Seychelles and -including a delegation from Iran, 19 Indian exhibitors from Indian Footwear Component Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) and one Chinese exhibitor are taking part in the sixth event which was first held in 2007.  The sixth edition, organized by 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 concludes on 9 Sunday, it would pack such events as, a Designer Award Ceremony, an exclusive Fashion Show and even a stall competition.

“Our footwear and leather exports have shown a record growth trend. In 2012, exports from this sector stood at $ 30 Mn but now it has registered a remarkable 63% increase in 2013 to $ 51 Mn.  This is supportive of our committed President HE Mahinda Rajapaksa’s export goal of $ 20 Bn by 2020. I am pleased to inform you today that this successful event has generated $30,592 of spot sales, $3.82 Mn investment inquiries with BoI and a strong visitor attendance of more than 15000 families, apart from other visitors such as schools and industry members” said Minister Bathiudeen, and added: “Also, more than $ 8400 of orders are under negotiation with India and Italy. $ 11,800 of inquiries for orders were also received while $8800 local orders are under negotiation. During this event, we also saw strong international buyer interest on 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 is identified by my 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 recognize 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.” ”