Changes on the way in China
31/03/2009
Wong King Hang, the president of the Hong Kong Hide & Leather Traders’ Association, has said that important changes in the tanning industry in mainland China could be on the way.
After some recent visits to a number of major tanneries in China, Mr Wong said: “We have noticed that some stringent rules on operating requirements have been relaxed.”
In response to a request from leatherbiz for more detail of these changes, he said the changes would come about as the result of local authorities’ interpretation of central government policy that is still to become completely clear. However, he suggested that they might involve a resurrection of sorts of the past practice in China of importing raw hides for immediate re-export.
This practice came to an end in 2007, but Mr Wong said he understood the central government was on the point of recommending that tanners look at starting it up again. In this case, though, tanners would be encouraged to add some value to raw materials on home soil—under controlled conditions in good, local government controlled industry sites—before exporting. They would be able to export only crust or finished leather.
At the point of export, he anticipated that tanners would be able to claim a refund of the import tax they had paid on raw materials from the Chinese government. Claims would not be valid for any wet blue exports.
Mr Wong said he felt the central government in China had changed its attitude towards the leather industry and now wanted to help preserve the 7 million or 8 million jobs that he says depend on the leather pipeline in the Asian country. “The government now wants to continue to have a tanning industry,” he said.
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