The Eastern and Southern Africa Leather Association (ESALIA) has made a series of recommendations aimed at reversing the declining fortunes of its members. During a recent workshop held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, it was agreed that for as long as the African leather industry remained in its current underdeveloped state, it would remain hostage to wider international trade policies. The continued export and smuggling of hides out of the region, high interest rates on borrowed capital and the high levels of duty imposed on imported commodities such as chemicals and reagents were all identified as major obstacles to development, as was a lack of communication between the different  national leather industries that make up the ESALIA region. As a result, hides remained chronically undervalued at regional level and quality levels uniformly low.

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