- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinian shoe factory eyes foreign markets
- Date: 15th December 2013
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK (DECEMBER 01, 2013) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN WORKERS AT TOSETTI SHOE FACTORY VARIOUS OF WORKER CUTTING THE SHAPES OF SHOES FROM A HUGE LEATHER VARIOUS OF WORKER USING MACHINE SEWING THE SHOES VARIOUS OF WORKERS AT SHOE WORKSHOP CLOSE OF SHOE INSOLES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF THE TOSETTI SHOE FACTORY, ABDEL HAI SIAG, SAYING: "I have hopes. In the past, for over nine years, we used to export to Germany. Now we work with Jordan, Egypt and we work for shoe shops in Israel. We are optimistic that we will export to other countries in the world." WORKERS AT SHOE FACTORY VARIOUS OF WORKER FIXING THE INSOLE VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING SANDALS WORKER PUTTING INSOLES ON TABLE TO DRY INSOLES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF THE TOSETTI SHOE FACTORY, ABDEL HAI SIAG, SAYING: "God willing, we have a new line with Britain and we will start exporting. We sent them some models, and we will start exporting in January. We hope that Tosetti company will have a good relationship with Britain." VARIOUS OF WORKER COLLECTING PARTS OF SHOE AND SEWING THEM TOGETHER SHOE BEING WORKED ON VARIOUS OF WORKER ON MACHINE TO PUT SIZES ON THE BOTTOM OF SHOES VARIOUS OF WORKERS SEWING SHOES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF THE TOSETTI SHOE FACTORY, ABDEL HAI SIAG, SAYING: "We work hard to produce shoes but production has decreased by 50 to 60 percent because of the Chinese imports into Palestine. This had an impact on the factories, the workshops and the employees, especially those who have 5 or 6 or 7 children." VARIOUS OF LEATHER MEN'S SHOES BOXES OF SHOES THAT ARE GOING TO BE EXPORTED VARIOUS OF WORKER PUTTING SHOES IN BOXES DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE IN HEBRON, ABDEL HALIM AL-TAMIMI IN OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE IN HEBRON, ABDEL HALIM AL-TAMIMI , SAYING: "If we look at the statistics from ten years until now, they show that many factories closed and started to import from China. But today the local production is increasing while the turnout to the chinese products has started to fall, because people started to understand the quality of the local industry." VARIOUS OF WORKERS AT TOSETTI PUTTING SHOES IN BAGS TO BE EXPORTED VARIOUS OF BOXES OF SHOES SIGN READING IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH 'TOSETTI SHOES COMPANY' EXTERIOR OF TOSETTI SHOES COMPANY
- Embargoed: 30th December 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Business,Economy
- Reuters ID: LVABQBJWFBV9THX32ABMAM95EZBX
- Story Text: A Palestinian shoe factory eyes foreign markets including Britain as it tries to fend off Chinese imports and trade restrictions imposed by Israel.
To fight the Chinese imports that have been flooded the West Bank, a shoe factory places its hopes in foreign markets.
The shoes produced by the Tosseti company in Hebron are already being worn by customers in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, the owner of the factory Abdel Hai Siag said.
"I have hopes. In the past, for over nine years, we used to export to Germany. Now we work with Jordan, Egypt and we work for shoe shops in Israel. We are optimistic that we will export to other countries in the world," Siag said.
Two-thirds of Hebron's textile workshops closed and 6,000 shoe factory workers lost their jobs since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000 and Israel subsequently tightened already existing trade and travel restrictions on the Palestinian territories.
Israel says its network of checkpoints and roadblocks that carve up the West Bank is needed for security reasons. Palestinians say they amount to collective punishment.
But Siag is staying one step ahead of his competitors by exporting shoes to Arab and European countries.
In the new year, the company will start exporting to Great Britain as well, Siag said.
"God willing, we have a new line with Britain and we will start exporting. We sent them some models, and we will start exporting in January. We hope that Tosetti company will have a good relationship with Britain," Siag added.
Competition from cheaper Chinese goods has all but destroyed the manufacturing industry in the Palestinian territories, where the "Made in China" label is a common sight in shops and cheaper than the local made ones.
"We work hard to produce shoes but production has decreased by 50 to 60 percent because of the Chinese imports into Palestine. This had an impact on the factories, the workshops and the employees, especially those who have 5 or 6 or 7 children," Siag said.
Hebron is the largest Palestinian city and is known for its leather goods and handmade ceramics, but a wave of cheap Chinese goods was the last straw for businessmen already battling Israeli travel restrictions.
But for the past two years, the Palestinian factories fought back and, like the Tosseti factory, revived in a sign of slow economic recovery in the Palestinian territories.
Abdel Halim al-Tamimi, deputy director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Hebron, said the situation is improving slowly and people were turning back to locally made leather shoes.
"If we look at the statistics from ten years until now, they show that many factories closed and started to import from China. But today the local production is increasing while the turnout to the chinese products has started to fall, because people started to understand the quality of the local industry," Abdel Halim explained.
China began to open up its economy around 30 years ago, using cheap labour to produce and export huge volumes of inexpensive goods that have undercut local industries in many developing countries. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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