“Meet in Africa” which starts on Thursday in Addis Ababa has all the makings of an interesting show. Over 200 exhibitors from Africa, Europe, and Brazil have gathered, as tanners in Africa prepare to extract more value from their domestic raw material.

Ethiopian tanners, in particular, have access to cheap loans in order to encourage processing beyond the pickling stage, which goes some way to explain the strong presence of Italian and Spanish machinery producers.

The “Meet in Africa” trade fair will be opened by British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who is currently in Africa for a development meeting. Security at the meeting is, therefore, very tight.

Mr Blair’s attendance is not the only factor politicising the show. The Eritrean government has apparently forbidden the 30 participants from the Eritrean leather industry from taking part in the show due to the long-running border dispute with Ethiopia.

 

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