Leather ….A promising manufacturing
28 August, 2011
Khartoum, (sudanow.info.sd)- Sudan is one of the richest Arab and African countries in animal wealth. Sudan's animal wealth is estimated at 103 million head of livestock, including 30 million head of cattle, 37 million of sheep, 33 million goats and 0.3 million of camels. The production of rawhide in the country amounts to about 22 million pieces per year of cattle, sheep and goats rawhide. The country has exported about 7 million pieces during the current fiscal.(**)
Sudan geographical location as a link between all surrounding countries in Africa, makes it an economic hub, a main trade zone and the gateway to a promising market . in addition to the there are the potentials of COMESA and the Arab markets. Khartoum remains, further more, one of the largest countries of the COMESA, only to second to Ethiopia, in the production of rawhide of livestock.
Rawhide is assuming economic importance in the sector of exports in Sudan, where it currently brings an earning of $35million annually, as part of the country's plan to generate alternatives to oil exports which, with the separation of the south, are expected to loose some (36.5%).
The country is characterized by large investments in the areas of tanneries and leather products, where 18 tanneries, large and small, were established in addition to many others under-construction, beside 30 tanneries complex in rural Sudan and 6 large, 6 medium and small factories in addition to 25 large, 250 medium and 350 small workshops for shoe making, in addition to unlimited numbers of artisans in footwear and leather products.
Since the eighties of the past century leather production began to head off the European countries towards Asian countries due to lower production costs, while African countries remain playing a major role in the business as they possess (25%) of the total world production of leather.
History of the leather manufacturing in Sudan
Leather production is one of the oldest manufacturing in Sudan, and at its beginning plants and herbs were used in tanning and it evolved over the centuries with the increasing needs of man and development, and access to modern techniques of leather production.
Production of leather is one of the oldest craft in Sudan where processed leather exports from the country, including soft tanned and mummified leather, constitute about 50% of the exports of cattle’s rawhide and more than 95% of sheep and goats’ rawhide.
The leather manufacturing also contributes to the provision of shoes, leather products and other popular products for various businesses. The modern sector began in 1945 with the establishment of a machine tannery next to a shoe factory and then the government set up three large tanneries during the sixties and seventies, followed by a number of small tanneries established by the private sector.
The tanning industry expanded after privatization in the early nineties and raw hides exporting was closed in 1993. There are 24 tanneries to date beside wide rural craftsmen sector in many cities of western Sudan, Sennar, Medani, Kosti, Gedaref, Kassala and Omdurman with about 30 conventional tanning complex associated with broad artisan sector for the making of the popular shoe product of footwear (Almarkob) and other products.
In the early sixties International Bata Shoes Company has established a big plant in Khartoum North, a model for Africa and the Middle East, which was nationalized in 1971. Shoemaking expanded during the seventies by the establishment of medium factories and workshops of various sizes whose number estimated at more than 600 workshops. By the beginning of removing the export ban of rawhides, the capacities started to fall down and factories, tanneries, workshops closed and this coincided with the market dumping of cheap and low-quality leather and artificial products from East Asia.
This traditional artisan sector remained playing its role as many of the artisans moved from Darfur to Omdurman engaged in the making of ‘Almarkob’ and other popular products in the area west of Omdurman.
Sudanese leather is unique
Sudanese leather has a unique quality of durability due to the composition of its tissue and fibrosis and is also distinctive over leather of other countries because of its big size as well as the availability of raw materials, (rawhides species, prices and quantities) and the existence of infrastructure for the industry both for the manufacture of leather (tannery) and leather products in a relatively acceptable and easy marketing for both ready-made leather to the domestic industry, or for manufactured and semi- manufactured leather.
Leather export is one of the most important Sudanese manufactured products and ranked first, accounting for (30%) of the total manufactured exports of the country, and is one of the sectors with high employment.
The government has sought to develop the promising leather sector giving it preference as elemental in increasing economic income with a return which is currently at $35 million annually as part of the government’s plan to create alternatives to oil exports.
The Director of the National Center for the Development of the Leather, Salah al-Mukhtar says leather exports in n Sudan amount to (10) million pieces, out of (20) million pieces, the total production during the year.
The report of the Leather Sector and Leather Products indicated a drop of 6%. of damaged leather. The designed and actual capacity of the tanneries, up to tanning stage, is estimated at 15.9 million pieces per year for light leather and at 1.87 million pieces per year of weighty leather.
Opportunities of investment in the leather manufacturing
A- Strengthening the operating capacity of the existing tanneries to reach the stage of exporting, which is devoted to an advanced stage for soft tanning and raise the potential capacities of finishing to meet the needs of the local market.
B- Establishing new tanneries in Khartoum, Gezira and Kordufan to increase production for the domestic market and for export.
C- Producing leather clothing items for export.
D- Establishing modern factories for the production of shoes, purses and leather belts of high-quality for foreign markets.
E- Producing compact leather in Khartoum, Kordufan, Darfur, Gezira and Warab states.
Manufacturing of leather products
The most important is the shoe making, as the manufacturing of other leather products like different types of bags still confined to workshops and artisan products, including folk and decorative leather products.
The first shoe factory was established in 1945 by the Osman Saleh Tannery, which was producing military, police and prisons’ leather sandals. Bata World Company was established at the early sixties and was also producing footwear for men, women and children as well as the plastic and stuff shoes and plastic slippers. More than 70 plant, mostly for plastic shoes and slippers, were there after established and some were on the prototype of Bata.
Efforts to upgrade leather manufacturing
The government has made significant efforts to upgrade leather manufacturing. The Minister of Industry, Dr. Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, affirmed the government keenness to develop leather industry to meet the needs local needs in leather products and implement the ministry’s programs aiming at replacing imports of manufactured goods and to achieve value-added products, through a plan for the development of footwear and leather products and livestock wellbeing from provision of pasture up to the stage of slaughtering, rawhide tanning and manufacturing, according to a clear and detailed program including training and qualifying workers in the sector. In addition to working on the establishment of a city for the leather manufacturing, covering a whopping area of ??500,000 square meters in collaboration with the state of Khartoum aim at developing leather industries, including tanneries and all leather products to take advantage of the country’s leather wealth.
The Ministry of Industry has pursued - for the transfer of new technologies - a strategic policy of encouraging the manufacture of export-oriented leather and leather products as well as ancillary industries for the manufacture of leather and leather products such as chemical industry, tanneries and other inputs.
Raising the capabilities of perfecting the product and upgrading the efficiency of the leather manufacturing to be included in exports to achieve the increase of the GDP, is a priority of the ministry.
Work is under way to improve the leather quality and reduce material loss and towards the development of tanneries to settle the complementary industries of the leather manufacturing to achieve the sustainability envisaged by the Ministry of Industry.
One of the main requirements is transporting of leather and the means of transport should match the quantity and type of the transported leather in terms of area and free of nails, outstanding ridges that might harm leather. Refrigerated vehicles are preferable when transporting stuffed and tanned leather, as safety is measured when transporting leather manually or mechanically.
The Bank of Sudan reports indicate an annual increase in growth of the livestock offset by an increase in domestic and global demand as an obvious result of increase in population and thus accompanied by urgent need for animal products and leather, particularly the Sudanese leather is characterized by its big size, making it a favorite, globally and by centers that have been established for the purpose of development of leather industry.
The National Center for Leather Improvement
Founded in 1947 at the Industrial Locality, The National Center for Leather Improvement aimed at raising awareness among Sudanese nomadic pastoralists and livestock owners on the economic importance of the rawhides and the establishment of national demonstrative projects for herders, butchers, and the slaughters on the practical setting of ??improving the rawhides collection, preparation, preservation, sorting, and establishment and rehabilitation of slaughterhouses, agencies, tanneries and also the creation of a body to maintain a joint liaison between all sectors related to the production, improvement and development of leather.
The National Center also represents a vital agent to the regional government and a drive to improve the quality of procedures and the development of measures of increasing the income of workers in the production field and improvement of the leather product on the various levels starting from the preliminary producers up to the traders or the exporter and the creation of new employment opportunities in addition to updating laws for improving leather product and linking the various sectors to meet global needs and facilitate promotion of the Sudanese leather.
Industrial Leather Incubator
The establishment of the Leather Incubator was because it represents an integrated set of common services, facilities and support mechanisms for the manufacture of leather and leather industries and to check up the chemical and physical properties in addition to providing investment for beginners and for new graduates entrepreneurs, innovators and inventors who want to start to establish their small and medium-size factories in order to ease the burden of the start-up phase as well as to solve the problems of leather manufacturing in all states of Sudan.
Countries importing Sudanese leather
For example Egypt imports rawhides from Sudan, fabricates and exports it in form of first grade leather to Europe and the second grade for manufacturing and domestic consumption and the third grade is exported to the Sudan.
Visions for advancement of leather manufacturing in Sudan
A number of experts perceive the need to pay attention to leather products and avert exporting rawhides, and shift attention to tanning, introducing modern technologies to achieve the added value. Experts emphasize the importance of developing the collection of raw hides of Greater Bairam livestock slaughtered annually and be preserved in a appropriate manner and tanned as quickly as possible, utilizing tanning technology which provides a full range of support services, specific to the manufacturing as an integrated system that provides the right place to start working in industrial plants, and embrace products, technologies, research and industrial designs, individuals and groups, in addition to conducting studies, technical and economic consultancy all required by industrial processes and investors.
(**) a new update is expected to be issued in December 2011, according to the Ministry of Animal Resources in Khartoum
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