Zambia: livestock diseases hindering leather industry
10/04/2012
According to a ZAM 2011 performance report, the leather industry is among the sectors with the biggest potential for growth and attractive export markets. However, it has been affected by various local supply-side constraints.
ZAM president, Chance Kabaghe said in the report that livestock diseases were among the reasons local tanneries were failing to meet the demand for Zambia’s leather in the US, China, Mexico and other countries.
“The leather and leathergoods industry constitutes a relatively small component of the manufacturing sector, but has been identified as a sector with high growth potential.
A major constraint to the expansion of the leather industry has been the lack of raw hides and skins for processing by local tanneries, and recurring incidences of livestock diseases,” the report says.
Southern Province, which has the largest population of cattle in Zambia, has been hit by the lumpy skin disease which the Ministry of Agriculture is currently fighting to keep under control.
ZAM said the leather industry was one area that was labour-intensive, and thus could contribute significantly to employment creation for youths in the country and further development in the livestock sector.
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