With marked improvement in the export of footwears, Kozhikode has risen up as the new hub of footwear industry, scaling new heights in 2023.
According to the data available, the exports saw a 38% hike in the last three months of 2023, compared to the previous year, in which 71 containers of footwear had been exported from Kozhikode in the last three months.
Despite the shutdown of almost half of 150 shops in Kozhikode and its nearby areas during Covid, this hike in exports is a new hope in the footwear industry.
The report on exports was prepared by an expert committee in the Kerala Exports Forum. Exports are the highest to countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. These export numbers are a blessing to the central government’s plan to make Kozhikode the footwear hub of India.
“The Chinese footwear industry is putting forward a huge competition in the market. Due to this competition, there has not been a serious increase in footwear prices in the last 10 years”, says K M Hameed Ali, Kerala Exports Forum president and VKC group director. Export numbers can still see an increase with improved footwear designs, commented M S Raunaq , Assistant Professor, Economics, University of Calicut, in his report.
