Nike resume football imports
15 November 2007Nike are importing around 5,000 footballs a day from a new supplier in Pakistan with the aim of increasing the figure to 15,000/day after 90 days of successful operations. Silver Star Group, based in Sialkot, will eventually be given a contract for 2-3 million balls a day, according to Abbas Bhatti, production manager of Silver Star.
Nike stopped importing balls from Pakistan last year after a dispute with Saga Sports over labour laws and child abuse. ‘It was a bad day for Pakistan and Sialkot when Nike shifted its production base to China last year’, Bhatti said. He added that Silver Star have already imported and installed new machinery and equipment to ensure quality standards and hoped the deal would restore Pakistan’s brand name of all exports. A ‘Soccer Ball Village’ spread over 100 acres centres is being considered and contractors would be asked to shift their stitchers to the village. Sialkot produces 85% of the world’s demand for handstitched inflatable balls which translates to around 40 million balls per annum worth $210 million. Source: Daily Dawn
