Mozambique targets leather sector as a strategic export industry

Mozambique wants to strengthen production, local processing and the competitiveness of the leather sector and its products in order to take advantage of regional and international integration, turning leather into a strategic export product. “The leather sector and its products have high economic and industrial potential, considering the existing livestock population in the country and market opportunities at national, regional and international levels. However, it continues to face structural challenges,” said the Secretary of State for Industry at the opening in Maputo of a consultation session on the leather sector and leather products, which was attended by representatives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the German government.

Custódia Paúnde listed among the constraints affecting the sector low levels of local processing, losses of raw materials, technological and financial limitations, environmental constraints, as well as weak linkages between producers and industry, competition from imported products and poor integration into regional value chains. At the African level, Paúnde noted, the development of the leather and leather products value chain constitutes a strategic driver for strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation within SADC and under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). According to Paúnde, at the continental level, the AfCFTA offers a favourable framework for expanding cooperation between African countries in the production and marketing of leather products, through the progressive elimination of tariffs, the harmonisation of rules of origin and the reduction of non-tariff barriers. For the Secretary of State for Industry, the plan being developed in the country also aims to create conditions for the leather sector to move away from a marginal role in the market and begin to respond consistently to the demands of domestic consumption and to the opportunities offered by SADC, AfCFTA and international markets, “contributing to increased exports, import substitution and the sustainable generation of employment”.