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Nigeria Targets $1 billion by 2025 Via Leather Production

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during the formal launch and sensitisation workshop on the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan in Abuja noted that Nigeria, being one of the highest producers of leather and finished leather products in Africa can achieve a projected revenue of $1 billion by 2025, which could help further develop the nation's economy by providing employment and improving FOREX earnings.

The Vice President on Tuesday continued that with the right planning and strategy, optimising the value chain, these economic goals could become reality soon. While referencing the study carried out by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) which projected that the country's leather industry has the potential of not only increasing its earnings by 70 per cent but also generating over $1 billion by 2025, explained that the country was yet to maximize its potential in the sector despite exporting millions of semi-finished and finished leather products to destinations including Italy, Spain, India, South Asia and China.

According to the vice president, “there is now a clear line of sight to our emergence as a major hub for the manufacture of leather goods with the refocusing of the leather sector to value addition from its previous focus on exporting semi-processed leather.

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.

The leather value chain is extensive. It includes animal husbandry, tanneries, finished leather products, and leather products marketing. The leather and leather products industry currently employs over 750,000 workers with about 500,000 workers in the finished leather goods sector. About 11 leather exporting companies have been active at the upstream end of the leather value chain.

Also, the export of leather has grown steadily, reaching a peak of $117 million in 2018. Exports fell in 2020 largely due to the pandemic, but to date, are in the order of $272m.

The next steps are clear and the stage is set for establishing the leather and leather products industry in Nigeria on a sure-footed and well thought out growth trajectory,

With the formal launch of the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan, the VP noted that the plan is all-encompassing, and will involve relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and the organised private sector.

Aside from the MDASs and NGOs, He added that the plan will also cover eight thematic areas, including intellectual property rights, governance, E-leather, environmental and social best practices, marketing, funding, critical infrastructure, and research and development.

Commending the initiative of the Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST) regarding the plan, Mr Osinbajo said the establishment of Nine (9) Extension Centres across the six (6) geo-political zones will help to train and develop young entrepreneurs in Nigeria as well as provide innovative research and development in the sector.

The vice president also commended the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, and his team for developing the plan, as well as other relevant government agencies and international bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) who are partnering with the Federal Government in the implementation of the policy.

 

 

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