Alam Sarowar Tito, Kishoreganj :
More than 20000 small and large shoes manufacturing factory have been set up in at least 25 villages of Bhairab, many of them supplying number of Popular brand.
Port town in Bhairab Bazar has development as an industrial zone in the decades since the emergence in Bangladesh owing to its smooth rail, road and waterways communication.
Reputed for being home one of the biggest fish market in the country. Its also know for its coal, rice, lentils, aluminum and jute mills. Today people also know Bhairab Bazar, for its shoe industries, which has development over the last 35 years ago.
Already, some 20000 micro, small and large shoe factories have sprouted across Bhairab and adjacent areas in Kishoreganj to take part in the lucrative business.
According to Footwear Factories Owners’ Association (BFFOA) in Bhairab, more than 2.5 lakh shoemakers were currently working with the Bhairab shoe manufacturing factories and over seven lakh people in the district were directly or indirectly involved with the sector.
After meeting local demand, shoes produced at the Paduka village are being exported abroad, mainly to Middle Eastern countries.
Hamidur Rahman, Owner of Hamid Shoes Enterprise, told The New Nation that “We are a three-member family and we earn Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 from selling 60 to 70 pairs of shoes each month.
Morshed Alam Sarkar, Chairman in Credit and Development Forum (CDF) and Executive Director of POPI an NGO in the country said, the factories have been set up in Bhairab municipality and 25 villages of seven unions under Kishoreganj district.
POPI distributed microcredit loans to more than Tk 100 crore among the thousands shoemakers in Bhairab and Kuliarchar. Monu Miah of Sarder Shoes said, “Around 80 per cent of the factories produce average quality shoes. The wholesale price of a pair of shoes is around Tk100, whereas the price of a pair of kids shoes range between Tk 25-Tk 30. Most of the factories use plastic, foam and rexine in making their footwear.”
The shoe manufacturing factories in Bhairab is one of the 177 cluster-based industries located in different parts of the country identified by the SME Foundation.
Footwear businessman Lifton Miah said, “All kinds of footwear, including sandals, pencil heels and flat heels, made of leather and other materials, are being produced here. However, the quality depends on price.”
BFFOA President Md Al Amin Mia said, “The daily footwear trade at Bhairab Shoe village is around Tk 75 crore to Tk 80 crore.”
“Buyers from Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Cumilla, Chandpur and other parts of the country come to Bhairab Bazar regularly to purchase footwear. Besides, many shoe manufacturers have also started shifting their factories to Bhairab from Dhaka for cheap labour and affordable transport costs.
However, he said that most shoe factories fail to expand further as they have no collateral to avail bank loans.
“We cannot provide collateral for bank loans, as most of our businesses are very small in terms of investment and annual turnover,” BFFQA president added.
He also said if the government provides a special train service for the industry, then more employment opportunities can be created in Bhairab.
