Audrey Galawu
The National Competitiveness Commission is partnering with various organisations and institutions to enhance the leather value chain competitiveness in the country.
The leather value chain has been characterised by poor performance due to technical, financial and ecological challenges, which are negatively affecting production, productivity and competitiveness.
NCC said the leather sector is exploring ways of partnering Small and Medium Enterprises, with large corporates, which will allow the sector to contribute to the fiscus.
NCC partnered with the Leather Institute of Zimbabwe to develop Certification and Standardisation for the Leather Value Chain focusing on Small and Medium Enterprises as measures to ensure leather competitiveness.
Through the Technical Assistant Fund, the LIZ is setting up the Satellite Leather Design Studio in the country whose aim was to upgrade the Leather Design Studio & Incubation Centre, improve capacity to deliver technical and business services to internal stakeholders.
The Commission has also engaged Chinhoyi University of Technology and toured the Cattle Breeding Centre for Reproductive Technologies Germplasm & Reproductive Technology Laboratory and the Livestock Breeding Farm, in October 2023.
“This was meant to have an appreciation of the artificial insemination programme, which is critical in increasing the national herd and production of quality hides. Resultantly, CUT was included in the Leather Value Chain Competitiveness Lab, and this is expected to culminate into strategic partnership between the University and ZLDC to ensure that the breeding programme/animal genetics plays a key role in the development of quality hides.
“This will help in ensuring that the proposed National Leather Brand is developed, in line with the Leather Value Chain Competitiveness Report recommendation,” NCC said.
NCC also said the Commission will focus on facilitating the Leather value chain players engagement with the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to consider SMEs registered as cooperatives to be allowed to bid for tenders as they are subjected to the same conditions as corporates, of which many cannot afford them due to size.
“Exploring the possibility of SMEs training focusing on Quality, Intellectual Property and Tax-related issues. This will help in ensuring that SMES produce quality products, which are competitive locally and globally in the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“We will also facilitate international benchmarking study tours for the sector, to enable them to enhance competitiveness in line with international best practice as well as develop partnerships,” the commission added.
The country’s leather sector used to be competitive, producing 17 million pairs of shoes per annum at its peak, of which 6 million, worth US$30 million were exported per annum.
Currently, less than 1 million pairs are being produced while the demand for shoes stands at 14-15 million pairs per annum.
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