We love Kazakhstan

It’s a shoe-in for Alicante province

THE PEOPLE of Kazakhstan have fallen in love with shoes made in Elche.

A spokesman for the Valencia regional government noted that Alicante province has found a new market for exports, with trade to Central Asia countries shooting up by 48% in the first five months of this year

The lion’s share of the goods has gone to the Republic of Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country.

The spokesman noted that wares to the value of €1.69 million have been bought up.

Of these, 79% were from the shoe industry in Alicante province, which is centred on Elche.

María Dolores Parra, regional director for foreign trade, said that shoe manufacturers had sold goods to the value of €1.48 million – an increase of 52% on the same period last year.

Sra Parra highlighted the importance of ‘diversifying’ and finding new inter- national markets for the region’s products. She explained that the Valencia institute for business competitiveness (Ivace) has a network which is working to offer a personalised service to companies so they can start to export to new areas.

“Alicante firms have opportunities in regions such as Central Asia and we can help them,” she stated.

Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, but has a population of around 18 million people.

It is the dominant nation of Central Asia, generating 60% of the region’s GDP, pri- marily through its oil and gas industry.