Sri Lanka hatches plan for footwear industry development
03/04/2013
The Industrial Development Board (IDB) chairman Udaya Kariyawasam told local press that as well as increasing leather and footwear production it will promote locally produced leather products among Sri Lankans.
He identified five key problems: poor quality and insufficient volume of leather; a lack of high-quality components; a lack of training; poor mechanisation and practices in production; and an absence of marketing or brand promotion.
"If the industry can open the export markets for leather footwear, it will target the overarching objective of this project which is to increase export earning and therefore will be more beneficial to the expansion of the industry, its employment levels and the country' s trade balance," he said.
He added that the IDB has met representatives from the University of Moratuwa and Colombo University Faculty of Fine Arts, both based in the country, to discuss developing the leather industry’s technology and practices.
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