SIALKOT, April 22: Soccer ball makers have demanded transfer of mechanised manufacturing technology for the survival of their industry.

Voicing the demand during a press conference here on Tuesday, a representative of the manufacturers said that indigenous hand-stitched balls were no more in demand in the international market.

Former PSGMEA chairman Prof. Safdar Sandal said that the trend of soccer ball manufacturing had transformed globally from traditionally stitching to mechanised manufacturing, however, the demand of hand-stitched soccer balls still existed because machine-made balls had failed in producing expected results.

He said the Small and Medium Enterprise Development would soon set up Sports Industry Development Centre in Sialkot with total cost of Rs272.16 million for up-gradation and modernisation of sports goods manufacturing industry, especially the soccer ball manufacturing sector, enabling it to cope with new global challenges.

He said the sports goods manufacturing industry was the main export sector of the city with total exports of about $350 million per annum.

He said the local soccer ball exporters had floated the concept of establishing a soccer village of international standards here in active collaboration with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

He said that there was a dire need of increasing public interest by opening state-of-the-art institutions for imparting standard technical and professional education to the masses.

The industry also needed subsidies from the government in airfreight and research and development funds, as it had to compete with countries like China and India in exporting sports goods.

He demanded reduction in freight costs, which were presently very high. Similarly, research and development fund be issued to all manufacturing units, he demanded.