Ostrich leather unity on show in Milan
After the protracted merger negotiations of the two main ostrich producers in South Africa, Klein Karoo International and Mosstrich, which traded as SCOT, the new company presented its first collection under the Cape Karoo International name at the Lineapelle exhibition in Milan in February.
While the ostrich meat and biltong sector generates billions of rand, the ostrich leather industry has been struggling for the past few years since the strong demand in 2011-2013.
Some of the causes that have contributed to this include the South African government’s change to visa requirements as well as international trade problems. It appears that the biased and negative information coming from some animal rights campaign groups has not helped either, along with the country’s national electricity supply problems.
Load shedding has created serious difficulties for retailers as well as producers across all sectors.
But there is some light: according to CKI, the decline has halted and orders, including from the domestic market, have increased.
