Local shoemakers in crisis

Chattogram's handmade footwear industry usually hits peak season during Ramadan, however, this year, the industry is set to undergo losses as the demand for local shoes has been decreasing.

Traders said demand has declined as the market is being flooded with shoes made in mechanised factories, mostly imported from China and India.

As a result, 300 handmade footwear factories in the port city have been shut down in the last seven years. More than half the labourers have switched to other professions.

Traders said the high price of raw materials and lack of wholesale buyers are the main issues faced by this industry.

During a recent visit to the East and West Madarbari, Kamal Gate, Jalsha Market and Nalapara areas of the port city, this correspondent saw that factory workers were making shoes and packaging them.

Workers said they have been using 90 percent rexine and 10 percent leather to make a pair of shoes.

Mohammed Sadek, owner of Tarik Shoes, said, "The splendour of this industry is lost. Now we're just trying to survive somehow."

According to the Chattogram Khudra Paduka Shilpo Malik Group, Chattogram city had around 600 shoe-making factories, employing around 10,000 workers before 2015.

Majority of the entrepreneurs came from outside Chattogram, mostly from Bhairab and Manikganj.

Azher Uddin learned to make shoes from a very young age. Currently, he is working at a footwear factory named Mitali Shoes.

"Every month some of the factories here are closing down. If this continues, one day the handmade footwear industry will be lost. We'll lose our jobs as well," he added.

Monjur Khan, president of the Paduka Shilpo Malik Group said, "The pandemic has created a new crisis in the industry. We thought as it was over, we'll make some profit again. But we aren't able to make any due to the price hike of raw materials."