The 15th Footwear Expo 2018 is scheduled to start on Friday. The week-long expo, organised by Footwear Manufacturer Association of Nepal, will be showcasing the latest domestic footwear products at Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu. The expo’s objective is to make people aware about the use of home-made footwear. The organisers said that they are offering discount of up to 15 percent in all footwear products at the expo.

 

There will be 140 footwear stalls of various shoe-manufacturing companies at the expo, according to a press statement issued by the association. The expo will showcase different types of shoes—leather, sports, casual, school/college—and slippers for both males and females.

 

 

 

The demand for footwear has been increasing as the income of people has been rising. Today, people wear different shoes according to the situation and environment. For example, apart from formal, informal and school-college-office wear, shoes for the outdoors—such as for hiking, trekking, running—are also available.  

 

Apart from the shoes, there is also high demand of leather-made jacket, belt, purse, ladies and gents bags, the association said. However, the domestic footwear industry has been facing a few problems, such as a lack of skilled manpower and the open India border from where shoes are smuggled. Indian shoes are comparatively cheaper as compared to the domestic one. Similarly, footwear manufacturers have been spending huge amount to import raw material. The country has been importing more than 75 percent of raw material from China and India, including other countries.