The Polish Chamber of Shoe and Leather Industry (PCSLI) has admitted that the leather and footwear sector in Poland is in crisis. Footwear production has now dropped to around 45 million pairs while finished leather production has fallen to less than 9 million square meters. However, the president of the PCSLI, Zbigniew Smyczek, was optimistic about the future for the sector: "I expect the downward trend in the sector to stop shortly and a upward trend to start middle of 2002", he said, "our market has considerable potential - Poland can absorb some 120 million pairs of shoes per annum and this makes this business worth some $3,5 billion. Many are interested in having a share in this business and therefore I am optimistic."

Share this story: