Mumbai, Apr 30 (UNI) International brands and global retail chains, taking note of India's emergence as a leader in global footwear production, have started looking at India as a one-stop destination to source leather footwear and even establish their manufacturing plants, according to a DHL India Outlook report.

A number of footwear companies from South East Asia and Europe are increasingly looking to set up their manufacturing facilities in India. Also the in-principle approval by the Union Government for the Footwear Export Processing Zone (FPEZ) on a 125-acre zone in Irungatukotai in South India, is expected to attract investors to the Indian market. In essence, there are vast opportunities for India to increase footwear exports.

A detailed study published by DHL India, an express logistics service provider, says India occupies 15 per cent of the global footwear production market and is the second largest manufacturer in the world. Indian leather footwear exports account for 32 per cent of the total leather products exported.

Elaborating further, the report said footwear exports for 2005-06 stood at USD 858.8 million, which accounted for 1.1 per cent of India's total merchandise exports. The contribution of leather footwear to the total footwer exports was 67 per cent at USD 580.90 million. India's exports of leather footwear have grown at 13.2 per cent per annum during 2001-05, the report added.

According to the report, UK was the most important destination for the exports of leather and non-leather footwear in 2005-06, accounting for 24 and 21 per cent of the total exports respectively.

Germany came second with the growth of 6.6 per cent between 2001-05 replacing US in 2004.

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