Nigeria: More tanneries needed to service demand
The founder of Nigerian leather footwear brand Mak and Jay has told local press that there is demand for high quality leathergoods in the country but that manufacturers struggle to find the material.
“We have just a few tanneries to process and supply the highly demanding market,” Jerry Martins told Business Day.
“Therefore, the first line of action would be to create more tanneries to promote leather production and increase availability. To achieve this, we would most likely need the input and support of the government even if it means creating policies and incentives to support local tanneries.
“Once that has been achieved, the next would be to kick-start a collaborative process between local tanneries and shoemakers, this would help shoemakers secure a consistent supply of quality leather.”
He added that the Nigerian leather industry has the potential to increase the nation’s local and foreign earnings and that he was looking forward to meeting industry players at the Lagos Leather Fair on June 17.
