Italian firms seek investment opportunities in Agra leather industry
VISHAL SHARMA
AGRA. After years of lagging behind in the foreign trade and collaboration segment, the ailing footwear industry of Agra is finally set to make a turnaround with Italian footwear component companies showing interest in the “Footwear Components Park” that is being setup in Agra by the Council of Leather Exports, Govt. of India, with the cost of over Rs. 16 crores.
A nine member delegation of Italian Footwear components manufacturers met the Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC) officials on Wednesday in Hotel Holiday Inn to discuss the possibilities of securing space in the Agra footwear park for Italian companies that are interested in setting up units in footwear manufacturing units in India.
Talking to Business Standard, Puran Dawar, Managing partner of Dawar Footwear Industries and Chairman & Managing Director of Agra Footwear Infrastructure Development Company that is engaged in the construction of the park on Agra-Delhi highway, said that the Italian footwear industry is far superior to the Indian shoe industry both in technology and setting new fashion trends.
He said that main target of this conference was to develop a business model for the transfer of technology & trends from Italy to India while exporting the finished product from India to Italy and the rest of the Europe where the Indian footwear industry is yet to make a dent.
He said that the AFMEC members had recently made presentations of the recent accomplishments made by the Agra footwear industry in front of delegates from Germany, Spain and Italy. This presentation also included the project of Footwear Park that is proposed to be constructed in Agra under the 10th 5-year plan. This project had attracted the Italian delegates into dropping in for a hands-on experience of the Agra footwear industry.
He said that the Italian companies have agreed to buy out a significant park of the 25 percent section left in the Agra Footwear park for FID and foreign units, which was a welcome sign for the footwear industry of Agra as with the Italian companies working in collaboration with Agra footwear manufacturers, the quality of the footwear produced in Agra was bound to show a steep upward trend.
He said that in the first phase, 58 domestic footwear units had proposed to setup their units in the Footwear Park and efforts were also underway to get this park classified as “Special Export Park” with the Ministry of Commerce to give the shoe manufacturers and exporters the advantage of Duty draw backs and tax rebates on footwear export.
He said that besides the accessory manufacturing units, the park shall also contain a Footwear Research and Development Centre and a “Modern Shoe Testing Laboratory” that shall be established with the cost of Rs. 2 crores, with certifications from Germany & U.K., providing international standard quality testing facilities to the footwear manufacturers and with the technology transfer from the Italian collaborators, the facilities available in the Agra Footwear Park would soon be at par with any international standards.
Notably, the Agra show industry manufactures almost 300,000 pairs of shoes & other footwear every day both in the organized and unorganized sector, which meets 60 percent of the domestic footwear requirements and 40 percent of the international footwear exports from India. Taking both the organized and unorganized sectors into account, there are about 5,000 to 7,000 such small scale units in Agra.
Besides these, about 200 large units thrive only on foreign export. Almost Two lakh people work in this industry which has earned this town a global fame, earning over 700 crores in domestic shoe footwear trade and almost Rs. 1000 crores in exports.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
AGRA. After years of lagging behind in the foreign trade and collaboration segment, the ailing footwear industry of Agra is finally set to make a turnaround with Italian footwear component companies showing interest in the “Footwear Components Park” that is being setup in Agra by the Council of Leather Exports, Govt. of India, with the cost of over Rs. 16 crores.
A nine member delegation of Italian Footwear components manufacturers met the Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC) officials on Wednesday in Hotel Holiday Inn to discuss the possibilities of securing space in the Agra footwear park for Italian companies that are interested in setting up units in footwear manufacturing units in India.
Talking to Business Standard, Puran Dawar, Managing partner of Dawar Footwear Industries and Chairman & Managing Director of Agra Footwear Infrastructure Development Company that is engaged in the construction of the park on Agra-Delhi highway, said that the Italian footwear industry is far superior to the Indian shoe industry both in technology and setting new fashion trends.
He said that main target of this conference was to develop a business model for the transfer of technology & trends from Italy to India while exporting the finished product from India to Italy and the rest of the Europe where the Indian footwear industry is yet to make a dent.
He said that the AFMEC members had recently made presentations of the recent accomplishments made by the Agra footwear industry in front of delegates from Germany, Spain and Italy. This presentation also included the project of Footwear Park that is proposed to be constructed in Agra under the 10th 5-year plan. This project had attracted the Italian delegates into dropping in for a hands-on experience of the Agra footwear industry.
He said that the Italian companies have agreed to buy out a significant park of the 25 percent section left in the Agra Footwear park for FID and foreign units, which was a welcome sign for the footwear industry of Agra as with the Italian companies working in collaboration with Agra footwear manufacturers, the quality of the footwear produced in Agra was bound to show a steep upward trend.
He said that in the first phase, 58 domestic footwear units had proposed to setup their units in the Footwear Park and efforts were also underway to get this park classified as “Special Export Park” with the Ministry of Commerce to give the shoe manufacturers and exporters the advantage of Duty draw backs and tax rebates on footwear export.
He said that besides the accessory manufacturing units, the park shall also contain a Footwear Research and Development Centre and a “Modern Shoe Testing Laboratory” that shall be established with the cost of Rs. 2 crores, with certifications from Germany & U.K., providing international standard quality testing facilities to the footwear manufacturers and with the technology transfer from the Italian collaborators, the facilities available in the Agra Footwear Park would soon be at par with any international standards.
Notably, the Agra show industry manufactures almost 300,000 pairs of shoes & other footwear every day both in the organized and unorganized sector, which meets 60 percent of the domestic footwear requirements and 40 percent of the international footwear exports from India. Taking both the organized and unorganized sectors into account, there are about 5,000 to 7,000 such small scale units in Agra.
Besides these, about 200 large units thrive only on foreign export. Almost Two lakh people work in this industry which has earned this town a global fame, earning over 700 crores in domestic shoe footwear trade and almost Rs. 1000 crores in exports.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
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