Farida group, one of the country’s largest exporters of footwear, will start manufacturing shoes at a new factory in West Bengal. The unit set up at an investment of Rs.5 crore is located outside Kalyani and will make 3,000 pairs a day.
Talking to The Hindu, Farida group Chairman M. Rafeeque Ahmed said: “We decided to set foot in West Bengal as good quality raw material is available close to our factory. The building is ready and we will start imparting training from January end. Thereafter, operations will begin by April.”
Mr. Ahmed also said they recently acquired a tannery in West Bengal with a capacity to produce 8,00,000 sq.ft. of leather. It would start feeding the shoe factory. The footwear plant would contribute about Rs.15 crore to Rs.20 crore per annum to the company’s sales.
The Rs.1,300 crore Farida group has eight plants in Tamil Nadu, with two in Chennai and the rest in Ambur. The plants make 25,000 pairs of shoes a day, of which 95 per cent are exported.
The company makes leather footwear for 10 leading international brands in more than 40 countries globally.
Ethiopia plant
Having established a tannery in Ethiopia about 18-months ago, the group is also planning to set up a footwear factory in the country, as it comes under least developed countries and offers favourable tariff for exports.
“The tariff to the U.S. is zero duty and to China is 50 per cent. We can take advantage of differential tariff,” he said. Mr. Ahmed said as footwear manufacturing was becoming more expensive in China, shoe manufacturers had started focusing on Africa.
“Over the next five to ten years, Ethiopia would turn into a footwear hub. By that time, we would also have established a strong foothold there,” Mr. Ahmed said.
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