The number of Bulgarian firms producing shoes has halved as a result of the economic crisis, according to the branch business association.

Ivan Kolev, deputy head of the "Branch Union of Leather, Fur, Footwear, and Haberdashery Industry in Bulgaria" said that five of the ten shoe-makers in Sofia have shut down, as cited by the national radio.

The Branch Union, which has 50 members, does not know the precise number of shoe-making companies in Bulgaria, but has estimated that about 200 are the active producers at the moment, compared with twice as many before the crisis hit in 2008.

Kolev has pointed to the case of the town of Peshtera where the economy was booming thanks to the shoe-making industry before the crisis, and which now has a lot fewer plants.

The Bulgarian shoe-makers usually manufacture with materials provided by their contractors, and the produce goes for export.

Kolev emphasized the fact that even amidst the crisis, Bulgaria is the fourth largest importer of shoe in Italy after Portugal, Spain, and Romania.

He said that the production capacities of all Bulgarian shoe-making plants that manufacture high-quality produce for exports are fully occupied at present.

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