RAWALPINDI: The government should provide incentives to the shoe manufacturing industry as it had great potential, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Saqib Rafiq said on Saturday.

“Footwear contributes less than one percent to Pakistan’s global exports. Despite the low contribution to the international footwear market, Pakistan is the seventh largest producer of footwear, manufacturing more than 2pc of all footwear produced worldwide,” Mr Rafiq said while addressing a prize distribution ceremony of catwalk shows at a local hotel.

He said the the government should focus on this sector as shoe manufacturing was a major part of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He said Pakistan exports footwear to more than 60 countries in five continents, adding that the country’s exports of footwear had registered a high rate of growth in the recent past.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023