Zimbabwe skin trader waits for better prices

14/03/2011
A crocodile skin processor from Zimbabwe, Padenga Holdings, has said it made the right decision to hold back material in 2009, waiting for prices to return to pre-downturn levels, which they now have.

Chief executive, Gary Sharp, told local media that the company held back more than 16,000 skins because of the fall in prices. It runs three farms in different parts of Zimbabwe, each with the capacity to produce 20,000 crocodile skins a year. It will now sell those skins because demand is high and the price has climbed back up.

As a result, Mr Sharp said Padenga Holdings believed it would achieve sales of $20 million this year, compared to $11.7 million last year.