According to the chairman of the footwear advisory panel committee of the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), M Rafeeq Ahmed, the increase in Indian exports of leather footwear is not the corollary of any spurt in the world market. `` The increase is only an Indian phenomenon. It is because of the genuine interest shown in Indian shoes by the buyers from the UK, the US, Germany and Italy. If we are ableto stick to the delivery schedules and quality requirements, these markets are going to be ours even into the new millennium.'' The export of leather footwear had been showing signs of positive growth since 1998-99. In the previous year, it had declined by 16.46 per cent.

The 2.95 per cent growth in 1998-99 has leapfrogged in the first four months of the current financial year and the trend is continuing. Even now India's exports of leather footwear is only 22.90 per cent of the total exports ofRs 1983.4 crore (for the four-month period).

In the world, imports of leather and leather products and leather footwear constitutes about 40 per cent. India has miles to go on the footwear road. The UK, the US, Germany, Italy and France are the five major importers of Indian leather footwear. However the Indian share in the total exports of footwear to these countries are very insignificant. According to the figures compiled for the 1997-98 period only 0.83 per cent of the US imports of footwear were from India.For the UK it was 3.05 per cent, Germany 1.23 per cent, Italy 1.21 per cent and France 0.44 per cent.

But since early 1999, Germany, Italy and the UK have been increasing their footwear purchases from India, especially from the manufacturers in Tamil Nadu. One of the major reasons for this turnaround was the collapse of the footwear industry in the East European countries after the Kosovo war. Big buyers in Germany and Italy were banking heavily on the next door shoe factories in those countries rather than in far away India. ``But they have made a comeback with renewed confidence in Indian supplies and quality.''This has also spurred the sudden spurt in shoe exports from India.

During the four-month period, the exports of finished leather and footwear components have declined by 11 per cent and 5.48 per cent, respectively. Garments export is still in doldrums with a 35.30 per cent fall. In spite of the rise in leather footwear exports, the total earnings have come down marginally by 0.88 per cent duringthe four-month period. According to chairman of CLE, MM Hashim the downtrend is only temporary and the trend will be positive when the figures for the next one or two months are compiled.