The Sri Lankan footwear industry is expected to benefit greatly from the government’s decision to get rid of duties on footwear machinery and raw materials.

The government has lifted the 2.5% taxes that applied to these goods and, while this may seem fairly minimal, chairman of the country’s Leather Footwear Advisory Council, Rangith Hettiarachchy, told the Daily News it would make a real difference to manufacturers; especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. It will give them a boost within the domestic market as well as on an international scale, he claims.