Banking on quality products and price competitiveness, Bangladesh’s footwear sector has managed to secure a strong position in the international market over the years.
The country’s footwear exports to Canada, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the US are rising consistently.
This was underlined in the data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) recently.
“The quality of Bangladeshi footwear items, lower production cost due to the comparatively cheap labour, and duty facilities for the EU market are helping footwear makers to boost their exports,” said Shahin Ahmed, President, Bangladesh Tanners’ Association (BTA).
The Bangladesh Government has set a target to export US $ 5 billion worth leather goods by 2020.
Leading global brands including Hugo Boss, H&M, Deichmann, Prada, Tamaris, Esprit, BZ Moda, Humanic, Regal, US Polo, Gul Shoe, Navy shoes, Clarks shoes, Deckers and ECCO shoes among others are some of the names that source footwear from Bangladesh.
According to EPB, in the first quarter of 2017-18 (July-September) fiscal year, footwear exports fetched US $ 234 million, posting an 8 per cent growth over the same period of last year.
During the period under review, Bangladesh earned US $ 32.4 million from footwear exports to the Netherlands alone, registering a 35.57 per cent year-on-year growth.
The country’s second-largest export sector earned US $ 25 million from Spain, noting a 47.06 growth percentage.
It exported footwear worth US $ 13.67 million to Poland with a 51.88 per cent growth; and US $ 9 million to Canada, recording a 15.39 per cent surge in earnings.
Exporters and business experts, however, said that international buyers are expanding their sourcing markets to maintain their profit margins without increasing the retail prices. This, in turn, has opened up new opportunities for the Bangladeshi footwear manufacturers.
