Pakistan has the footballs - but few takers

FIFA World Cup 2010 is just around the corner; preparations are in full swing all around the globe - from construction to training camps to seat bookings and hotel reservations, the heat is on.
Though, Pakistans participation in these activities is usually negligible, domestic manufactures had been playing a significant role by manufacturing millions of footballs for soccer lovers through successive World Cup years.
Save for the 2006 World Cup, when child labour issues and regional competition hampered sales, Pakistani football exporters witnessed a seasonal surge in demand every four years.
This year, however, seasonal growth in football exports orders has been low compared to that seen in the Word Cups held before 2006.
According to industry sources, local soccer ball manufacturers have been able to fetch around 30-40 percent of the total orders floated globally for the upcoming tournament.
This compared to around 70-80 percent of the orders grabbed during 2002 and 1998 World tournaments shows that business is getting tough for domestic football makers.
Child labour issues have undeniably inflicted much damage to the industry in the last ten years, but now that the issue has been settled, the focus is back on economics. Availability of low cost machine-made soccer balls from China has further reduced the appetite for hand stitched balls made in Sialkot.
And the numbers speak for themselves; Pakistans football making industry fetched $164 million from exports in FY09, as against an average $221 million per annum earned during FY05-08.
Industry experts report that buyers are mostly concerned with prices, and not whether the balls are hand stitched or machine made.
"On an average, a labour stitches four soccer balls per day, whereas one machine produces 30-35 balls per day", says Zia-ur-Rehman, Chairman of the Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
If that isn enough to make local players relatively uncompetitive, power and gas shortages make matters worse. Industry sources reveal some businesses have even failed to meet export orders on time which has dented their reputation.
Domestic producers are also facing a threat from rising raw material costs, such as synthetic leather and latex. The price of latex, which is mainly imported from Thailand and Malaysia, has almost doubled over the last year.
In an effort to tackle these problems and keep exports buoyant, so far local sports goods manufacturers have been quite proactive.
Many are working with agencies like USAID to streamline their processes, whereas others are trying to curb production costs by investing in technology and machines.
This is all good. But knowing that machinery is electric powered, its safe to assume that Pakistans sports manufacturing industry is still a long way from reclaiming its lost market share.