Tanzanian leather industry remains at low ebb
Published: 2nd Sep 2021
Himo Town/Area Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania - The response from Leather Association of Tanzania executive secretary Freddy Silvester Kabala to our questions for the feature on sheep and goat skins leathers in the last issue arrived too late for inclusion. Here are his answers:
laughter conditions, storage and preservation of hides and skins are very poor in Tanzania, according to the Leather Association of Tanzania.
Approximately how many sheep and goats does Tanzania have?
21.29 million goats and 7.8 million sheep
Approximately how many are slaughtered per year?
3.63 million goats and 1,71 million sheep
Approximately how many skins are bought by tanneries?
Currently less than 0.5 million skins
Approximately how many are pickled and exported?
There are no exports of pickled skins
How many processed to wet blue and exported?
Currently there are no exports of wet blue skins
How many are finished for export?
There is no export of finished leather.
And how many finished for sale to local manufacturers of footwear and leather goods?
In Tanzania we had 10 tanneries (7 processing to wet blue stage for export and 3 making finished leather for the domestic market). However production performance has been fluctuating over the years, reaching a peak in 2014. Over 90% of tanning output was semi processed leather (wet blue) for export.
Following the year 2015 there has been a sharp decline in demand and prices for the leather, forcing 7 tanneries to close and only 3 processing finished leather for the domestic market.
Have the standards of animal husbandry, slaughter and flay improved over the last few years, and has that benefitted the tanning industry?
Not really. The majority of livestock production is still carried out in a traditional practice on a household scale. Livestock production for 80% consists of traditional agro pastoralists and 14% of pastoralists. This traditional livestock production practice often causes defects in animal skin resulting in the poor quality of hides and skins.
Adequate slaughtering facilities to support leather manufacturing are not available in Tanzania. Most of these are simple buildings where killing and dressing are carried out on the floor. Informal slaughters also operate throughout the country with poor building conditions, hygiene, and safety. Inadequate slaughter facilities cause animal skin to be mixed with blood and faeces which makes skin preservation hard. In addition, slaughtering facilities in Tanzania are located far from tanneries creating additional transportation cost and potential damage that deteriorates skins quality.
What is export demand like for the skins, and is that stable, growing or shrinking?
As pointed out above, export demand has been shrinking rapidly since 2015 and currently there is completely no market for skins, forcing a lot of skins to be dumped. In the last two years there has been a huge demand for raw dried cattle hides from West Africa - Nigeria in particular - where they end up being consumed as food.
Do export customers prefer them to be less processed or more processed? Is that preference changing?
Less processed.
What is the domestic demand like for the skins and is that stable, growing or shrinking?
Domestic demand is not growing due to the market being flooded with imports of synthetic (PVC) products made of synthetic leather and second hand (used) products.
What influence are government policies having on the sheep and goat leather industry? Are there other policies needed?
No, the problem is the market.
Footwear Industry Articles
- Nike claims ‘mental benefits’ from new styles, observers take wait-and-see approach
Nike makes big technical claims for a category of non-sport footwear (their description: pre-game and post-game) launched in January.Certainly not the first footwear to incorporate underfoot pressure points, ‘Nike Mind Technology’ is 2 shoes – a mule and a sneaker (in different colour options) – which Nike says lit ...moreA perspective: Perhaps it was an eye-opener for industry players to hear each otherLooking back over the workshop, BMA consultant Justin Snelling wrote: “In terms of our reflections of the workshop, we covered a lot of territory. Perhaps though what was most encouraging was the breadth of participation from different segments of the sector and their willingness, or even excitement, to contribute. We don’t ta ...moreAn industry with distinctive material riches, unable to sufficiently convert them into finished goods in a world class way“The project’s purpose,” said Courtney Grant, “is to be a robust, evidence-based strategy to address the leather and general goods sector’s challenges and unlock its growth potential.”The main headings of her presentation were:Creating the groundwork for a National Leather and General Goods Strategy:Fro ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Beyond the data trap: Why better decisions matter more than just more data
On 1st July 2026 I presented at the FILK Leather Days conference and asked the delegates to consider “Sustainability through a new lens: resetting how we view impacts in the leather value chain”. This month’s article therefore explores this idea a little more with a focus on how we view data and whether it can blind us t ...moreZimbabwe Leather Development Council lobbies for Government contracts
The Zimbabwe Leather Development Council (ZLDC) is lobbying policymakers to open up public procurement contracts to local leather manufacturers, arguing that Government contracts are essential to reviving the country’s struggling leather value chain.Speaking on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo (ZIC ...moreWorld first - compost: Possible, desirable, not necessarily simple
The world of compostable leather is not as historically accurate as the industry would like it to be. The definition of leather is: “hide or skin with its original fibrous structure more or less intact, tanned to be imputrescible (rot-proof). Hair or wool may or may not have been removed, and the material can include split layers or ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- RealPPE Marketplace: Where safety meets smarter procurement
RealPPE Marketplace is a 100% black women-owned B2B PPE marketplace built for South African industry. Founded after years of witnessing safety officers and procurement teams lose time to fragmented suppliers, inconsistent pricing, and missing documentation, RealPPE was created to bring structure and reliability to industrial PPE sourcing. ...morePerformance testing: Building credibility in the modern apparel and footwear market
The lines between protective wear, sportswear, outdoor apparel, wellness clothing and everyday fashion continue to blur. Consumers increasingly expect garments and footwear to deliver more than style alone. Whether purchasing workwear, running apparel, outdoor footwear, school shoes or everyday casual products, buyers now look for comfort ...moreGlobal stage for occupational safety innovations: exhibitor registration for A+A 2027 has begun
Düsseldorf, Germany – The next A+A fair will be held from 19 to 22 October 2027.Since 16 June 2026 exhibitors have been able to register for A+A 2027. Companies and organisations from around the world are invited to introduce their innovations and solutions for safety and health at work and sustainable prevention to an int ...more
© S&V Publications
