Agra, Nov 14 (IANS): A three-day conference of the Asian Footwear Associations began here Friday to discuss trends in the industry and set benchmarks for a vision statement.

The government-run Council for Leather Exports (CLE) is hosting the 33rd International Footwear Conference (IFC) in this Taj city. The last meet took place in Tokyo.

Leading countries among the participants are China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.

Puran Dawar, president of the Agra Footwear Manufacturers Association, said the conference would help the Indian industry to understand the future trends and potential.

Agra's share of Indian footwear exports is around 28 percent.

Experts have been invited from leading global footwear markets like the US and European Union countries.

According to Mohammed Rafiuddin, an official, the leather sector was one of the prime industrial sectors of the Indian economy.

"It is among the top 10 foreign exchange earners for the country. It is a labour intensive industry providing employment to 2.5 million people, of which 30 percent are women."

Exports of leather and leather products touched $5.91 billion in 2013-14, recording a cumulative annual growth rate of about 14.77 percent over the past five years.

The major markets for Indian leather and leather products are Germany, the US, Britain, Italy, Hong Kong, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Denmark and Australia.

India is the second largest global producer of footwear after China and accounts for 13 percent of global footwear production.

Some of the major production centres of footwear in India are Chennai, Ranipet and Ambur in Tamil Nadu, Pune and Mumbai, Kanpur and Agra, Delhi, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, Karnal, Sonepat and Faridabad in Haryana, Kolkata, and Kozhikode and Ernakulam in Kerala.

About 1.10 million are engaged in the footwear manufacturing industry.