Despite the government recently declaring that the leather industry will be a priority for boosting exports, manufacturers in Zambia have said tanners are at a disadvantage as they are being charged too much tax.

The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) said tanners that use wattle for vegetable tanning are suffering as the ingredient is not classified as a raw material and therefore has a 5% duty.

“The same is true for chrome powder … and fungicides used in the wet blue tanning which are currently attracting a duty of 15%,” said ZAM, according to local press.

“The duty significantly increases the cost of tanning and the resulting products are uncompetitive in the world market and stifling the growth of the domestic leather sector.”

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