NCRF: ‘A very complicated stew’
Published: 22nd Nov 2024
Michael Lawrence… A very complicated stew.
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – The NCRF has 10 members with very different approaches to all sorts of things, so a forecast is difficult.
We’re keeping an eye on factors including reduced interest rates, the two-pot retirement system, and political outcomes, and there is a degree of optimism, but I’m not willing to attach any figures to that.
As far as the R-CTFL Masterplan is concerned, it’s been 5 years – the midpoint of the project, and time to do a serious and substantive review and evaluation of what has been done, tried and achieved.
There’s no linear impact. It’s a very complicated stew.
Some projects have been identified to take forward – and now funding must be found.
Sustainability and circularity 5 years ago were issues but not top of mind – now they are.
Rebate discussions continue to be very dynamic and robust.
There are implications to global trade from Trump’s return. He was very adversarial last time and we expect more of the same, but it’s all speculative.
We have called for a big revamp of the Masterplan in January, which we will have to sell to the Masterplan community. There are a lot of us who still believe in the benefits of the Masterplan.
Tags: Michael Lawrence, NCRF
- SAFLIA: Hopefully the slide will be reversed
Durban, KZN, SA – My forecast for 2024 is that production will be 12.5% down on last year. Meaning 41,690,000 pairs.The last time we saw such low volumes was in 2007.My forecast for next year is that production will be stabilised at the same level as this year – let’s say 42,000,000 pairs. However, with some serious inte ...moreThe Road Ahead: A forecast for South Africa’s footwear and leather goods industries
Durban, KZN, SA – The South African footwear and leather goods industries are navigating a challenging yet potentially transformative period. Shaped by a mix of longstanding hurdles and emerging opportunities, their future remains uncertain as the global market continues to shift rapidly in the wake of COVID-19. While difficulties p ...moreAMSA: ‘Perturbing trend’ in imports
Durban, KZN, SA – As the economy still seems to be precariously poised due to various exogenous variables, I remain very cautious about looking into the future.The formal sector of the economy has not fared well in terms of employment as measured by Clothing Industry Bargaining Council figures (see attached chart).It appears that th ...more- 2025 FORECASTSBy common consent, 2024 has been a difficult year for almost all businesses, organisations, government departments and people in the SA leather value chain. The main exceptions would have been successful exporters, because the domestic market has been getting poorer year after year. The underlying reasons are mostly to do with the policie ...more
Footwear Industry Articles
- Manufacturer-buyer event: Among the manufacturer comments
The 2-day Retail Buyer Engagement & Manufacturer Onboarding Programme on 01 and 02 July was part of an effort to kickstart the R-CTFL Masterplan – which, from a footwear perspective at least, has appeared stalled.It was sponsored by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and implemented through the R-CTFL Masterplan Footwea ...moreVermont sale completedJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA – After 39 years, former owner Mandy Owen has sold her shares in Vermont Leathercraft Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd to Creek Lab (Pty) Ltd, and officially handed over the business to Prashant Bhaga.In a message on LinkedIn, she wrote: “I would like to thank my husband, Graham, for his invaluable contributio ...morePlastics SA ‘celebrates 30 years of inspiring South Africans to take action against litter’ – but so much more is needed
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Plastics SA, the umbrella body which represents all sectors of the SA plastics industry, will hold its 30th annual ‘Clean-Up and Recycle Week’ from 14-20 September.In a release, Plastics SA said the annual event “has grown into one of South Africa’s largest collaborative environmen ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Luxury or notWe hear from all sides that the leather industry is not doing too well and the conflict in the Middle East is definitely not improving the situation. The present wars have a huge impact on inflation and hence on the buying power of consumers with negative consequences for the luxury industry whose shares we have seen tumbling at the vario ...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‘FMD is here to stay – we have to learn to live with it and manage it’
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – FMD is no longer a series of isolated outbreaks; it has become a national systemic risk, and we need to shift our mindset from emergency response to living with and managing FMD responsibly. The pressure is already showing in the numbers. Our latest figures show cattle slaughter down 12% and sheep slaughter d ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- New OHS regulations coming into force later this year mean PPE needs to be reviewed, too
In March 2025, the Physical Agents Regulations (and their guidelines) and the Noise Exposure Regulations (and their guidelines) of the OHSAct were published, with an 18-month time-period promulgation date to September 2026, allowing employers time to upgrade their Health & Safety requirements to comply with the new published regulatio ...moreRealPPE 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. ...morePremier Workwear: Engineered protection for Africa’s industrial workforce
In high-risk industrial environments, protective clothing is far more than a uniform requirement — it is a critical component of workplace safety, operational reliability and regulatory compliance. For procurement professionals, safety managers and operational leaders, selecting the right supplier means finding a partner capable of ...more
© S&V Publications
