Nigeria, one of the highest producers of leather and finished leather products in Africa, is said to have the potential to generate about $1 billion, this year (2025), a Nigerian Economic Summit Group`s report, has indicated.
The leather value chain acknowledged to be extensive in Nigeria, with the Northwest of kano being the hub, the report stated includes animal husbandry, tanneries, finished leather products and leather products marketing.
The report which was prepared by a team of experts, namely: Gimba C.G, Alogala J.A, Okeoma O, Ejila D.A, Salawu A.O, and Afuwai, W.G entitled ‘Impact of Leather Products in Nigerian Economic Growth and Business development’, seen by BusinessDay, advocates for Federal Government renewed focus on the sector.
Kano is known for its many festivals, ancient relics and culture, as well as one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of Nigerian leather that makes it the largest commercial hub for the leather industry in Nigeria.
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The traditional tanneries in Kano are Nigeria’s oldest, and attracts the largescale local leather suppliers from the neighbouring countries of Niger Republic, Chad, and, Cameroun, as well as other countries in the Sahel region.
Kano tanneries are the beginning point in the leather-producing value chain. These tanneries receive hides and skins stripped from slain animals and take them through the tanning process until they become leather.
“The leather and leather products industry currently employs over 750,000 workers with about 500,000 workers in the finished leather goods sector. “About eleven leather exporting companies have been active at the upstream end of the leather value chain; together, these companies generate about 8000 jobs.
“To date, however, exports are in the order of 272 million dollars; Nigeria’s semi-finished and finished leather have their highest patronage in Italy, Spain, India, South Asia and China, where it is being used in the production of Shoes, Belts, Bags, and folders that are largely traded in West Africa and many parts of Africa.
“The famous Aba shoe cluster in Abia, informally exports almost a million pairs of shoes weekly mostly to destinations within Africa”, the report highlighted.
The experts in the report noted that the leather industry is huge in Nigeria, and its potential can only be imagined; “so, there is no question that properly organized, the leather and leather products industry could become one of the major items in Nigeria’s export basket.’’
“One reason behind the industry’s weak growth is disintegration in the local value chain. Shoemakers say sourcing for leather locally is a gruelling feat as a lot of the leather produced locally – at tanneries in Kano and Kaduna -is exported to foreign countries.
“A flaw in the value chain suggests Nigeria has an underproduction problem, when compared to Vietnam, with a population of 96 million, and an annual production capacity of 760 million pairs, while Nigeria, on the other hand, produces 48 million shoes from its local production epi-centre- Aba, which houses the largest shoe clusters in Nigeria.
“Nigerian shoemakers and other leatherwork producers say they have been unable to produce the desired quantity of FLPs that would spur the sector into a self-sustainable or globally relevant one. Other shoe and bag makers in the country have blamed their inability to grow as a result of unfavourable policies and lack of support from the government.
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“Only a few shoe factories continue to operate and are barely surviving through government contracts to supply leather shoes to the Army, Police Force, and the Ministry of Defense. Most of these shoemakers make use of old machinery and mundane methods to sustain their production capacity. This affects their ability to scale and increase their production capacity efficiently”, the experts further noted in the report.
A maximum of 120 shoes is produced daily through manual in Nigeria, as against the Ethiopia that recently launched a shoe production plant last year, with a daily capacity of 10,000 shoes.
Nigeria used to be home to quite a number of leather tanneries, such as: Harmattan Tannery, Kano, Kapital Tannery, Kano, Mario-Jose Enterprises, Kano, Globus Tannery, Kano, Challawa Tannery, Kano, Kano Tannery, Kano, KTL Tannery, Kano, Tannorth Tanner y, Kano, and Deras Tannery, Kano.
As well as companies such as: Multitan Limited, Kano, Great Northern Tannery, Kano, International Tannery, Kano, Gashhash Tannery, Kano, Arewa Tannery, Kano, Danzam i Tannery Katsina, Ajaji Tanneries, Lagos, Limson Tanneries, Lagos, almost all of these companies are currently out of production
