According to the data provided in the “2010 Annual Economic Survey Reportâ€, in 2009, the production of leather and leather shoes in Kenya achieved remarkable results with a growth rate of 36.5%, of which the growth rate of footwear production was as high as 46.5%.
In the 1990s, due to uncomfortable market competition, the Kenyan leather industry was on the verge of collapse. The shift from domestic leather practitioners to the export of hides from developed countries led to a sharp reduction in tanneries from 12 to 4.
To reverse this situation, the Kenyan government introduced new measures in 2005 to impose a 20% consumption tax on raw hide exports. As a result, Kenyan leather practitioners began to shift from exporting raw materials to producing high-value leather products. The data shows that after the introduction of the consumption tax, the export volume of raw hides in Kenya dropped from 18,542 tons in 2004 to 841 tons in 2009. This made the Kenyan leather industry take the first step to get out of trouble. Since then, with the support of the government and sponsors, Kenya has been actively developing the leather processing industry, which has generated a revenue of 45 billion Kenyan shillings for the country.
Today, the experts are full of confidence in the prospects for the development of the leather industry in Kenya and believe that the three factors will contribute to the revitalization and prosperity of the leather industry in Kenya. The first is the increasing export tax on raw hides. In 2006, the Kenyan government raised the export tax on raw hides exports again to 40%, and it continues to rise. The second is the government's investment and the establishment of a special agency to help the leather industry. The Kenyan government has recently established a management committee specializing in the development of the leather industry. Third, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other sponsors gave active support to the leather industry in Kenya. Experts believe that if the opportunity is seized, not only will the leather industry in Kenya be expected to develop vigorously, but it will also help many Kenyans living in arid and semi-arid areas to escape poverty.
Despite this, experts from the East and South African Leather Industry Association pointed out that there are still problems that need to be solved in the development of the leather industry in Kenya. For example, the low price of leather products affects the production enthusiasm, the lack of animal husbandry knowledge, and the correct method of slaughtering livestock. Dermabrasion technology is poor.
To get rid of bottlenecks on the road to development, the Kenyan government has opened a leather specialty program at the University of Nairobi to cultivate high-level technical talents to meet the needs of producing high-grade leather products, which in turn will promote the revitalization and development of the leather industry in Kenya.
For a period of time, the situation of leather production in Kenya is gratifying. In order to further accelerate the development of the leather industry, the Kenyan government announced a grant of 175 million Kenyan shillings (1 US dollar equals 80 Kenyan shillings) for the construction of five new micro-leather processing plants to support the development of the leather industry in Kenya.
November 06, 2018