Sports
Pakistan has exported over 55.8 million footballs worth more than Rs.8.5 billion ($185 million) for the World Cup in Germany beginning June 9.
Updated : Sep 18, 2017, 03:58 PM IST
According to industry sources, over 85 percent of the total production of soccer balls in the world comes from
Over 40 million balls worth $210 million are produced annually by nearly 60,000-strong highly skilled workforce of
Its main forte is hand stitched inflatable balls, which have been produced for almost a century now, and are being exported to world markets by more than 1,000 entrepreneurs. An added impetus has been provided as the local industry has been purged of the stigma of child labour.
The stitching of soccer balls started in
Today, almost all international buyers rush to
In the 1980s,
With a century-old industrial base, the city has developed an incredible export culture over the decades, and is contributing up to $800 million to the national exchequer annually. The city is sprinkled with thousands of small and medium enterprises engaged in honouring their global export commitments for value-added quality goods including sports items, surgical instruments, leather products, gloves and musical instruments.
At the moment, however, the city is gripped mainly by football fever, with business activity at its peak in and around the city.
A rush of cargo agents is witnessed at the