The shoe sector in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh is having a dismal Eid season because factories have been having trouble importing polyurethane (PU) chemicals from China, which has caused delays. As a result, they have not been able to take advantage of the Eid market, which is crucial for shoe producers in the area.
Even when the chemical is once again in supply, the owners cut production in half, meaning workers have no way to make more money because they are not allowed to work overtime.
Stakeholders claim that this delay has severely hampered production in every factory, causing owners to struggle to satisfy orders amid the crisis and incur significant losses.
Traditionally, the shoe trade in Brahmanbaria revolves around the two Eids – Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha. Factory owners rely heavily on Eid sales to make up for the losses incurred during other periods. Last year alone, the factories made sales of about Taka 12 crore during Eid-ul-Fitr.
In Brahmanbaria, the shoe manufacturing began in 1963. There are currently 80 factories in the country, employing over 3,000 people. At least 26 of them manufacture shoes using machines.
The largest companies make at least one lakh pairs of shoes a day during the Eid season. The shoes are in demand not only in the district but also in other areas, including as Dhaka, due to their popularity and affordability. Every Eid, the larger factories offer shoes for Taka 50–Taka 60 lakh in the market, while the smaller ones sell shoes for Taka 10–Taka 12 lakh.
But the picture this year painted was bleak.
According to the stakeholders, the shoe factories grappled with severe shortages of PU chemicals that led to disruptions in shoe production for approximately three weeks after Shab-e-Barat and the consignments of chemicals that were imported by traders from China were stuck at Chittagong port for lab tests.
Due to a lack of orders from wholesale buyers, major factories are producing shoes valued at Taka 50,000 to Taka 60,000 per day, which is less than half of what they produced last year. In a similar vein, smaller manufacturers are currently manufacturing shoes that cost between Taka 5 and Taka 7 lakh per season.