Tanzania Leather Industry Manufacturers Seek Government Support

Tanzania's leather industry condemned the government for not supporting the development of the leather industry, despite massive exports of raw materials. At present, Tanzania's leather goods producers demand that the government support industries and provide at least commercial financial guarantees so that they can invest in leather companies. However, those leather traders who participated in the thirty-fourth Dar Es Salaam international trade exhibition last week were frustrated by the way the government dealt with leather industry. The Trade Fair will be held on 10 June 28th, -7.

A few years ago, the census of livestock numbers in Tanzania showed that there were 20 million livestock, but virtually all the raw materials were exported. Therefore, Tanzania has not gained the added value of processed and exported finished leather.

The executive director of a leather goods manufacturing company said that although leather production was started in 1992, the company remained small because it did not provide any guarantee for the company to obtain loans from financial institutions. The company once acquired a large number of export orders for leather goods from China and the Far East, but they could not deliver the products, even though they combined with other leather goods production units.

Leather companies require the government to restrict the import of second-hand leather goods and cheap plastic versions of leather goods from China, so that the leather industry in Tanzania can grow.

This is due to the fact that cheap imports interfere with costs and prices, thereby destroying domestic artisans' demand for leather goods. The owners of leather industry hope that the government will instruct the school to buy students' shoes from the domestic industry, and the shoes of the police and the army will also be purchased from the country. Such a large order can help reduce prices and hence increase the output of industry.