Majority of Zimbabwe’s small hides ‘are going to waste’
19/10/2017
He urged the government to review its policy of applying a tax of 0.75 Zimbabwean cents per each kilogramme of hide exported as it has rendered small hides, which make up around 60% of the raw hides produced in the country, unsellable abroad. These hides no not have a place in the domestic market either, he says, as the Zimbabwean tanning industry is only equipped to process heavy hides.
Mr Mano sees two options moving forward. He explains: “There are two solutions, either we invest in modernising our farming so that we turn our lighter hides into leather, but that’s a medium-term project, which requires a lot of support and private sector involvement. Or, in the interim period, we allow two products to get out of Zimbabwe, that is, the heavy hides and the semi-processed leather (e.g. wet blue leather) which does not have a market locally, but can fetch premiums in some international markets.”
Share this story:
