Indian Investors Eye $1.5 Billion Leather.

A GROUP of investors from India has said that it will import leather worth US$ 1.5 billion from Zambia in the next five years to meet the current increasing demand for the raw material in the Asian country.

Delegation leader Rafeeque Ahmed said leather demand in India was increasing hence the need to start importing it from Zambia where it was readily available.

Mr Rafeeque who is Farida group chairperson one of India's leading leather company, said investors in his delegation would work closely with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to cement partnerships through business linkages.

Addressing participants at a demand dissemination workshop at Lusaka's COMESA headquarters, he said partnerships would facilitate for quality leather being produced through improved technologies.

"India needs extra leather for the production of leather related products and it's for this reason that we want to work hand in hand in COMESA," he said.

Livestock and Fisheries Development Deputy minister Albert Mulonga said Zambia's leather export had progressively increased from US$3.4 million in 2003 to US$10.8 million in 2009.

Mr Mulonga said the country's leather sector had potential to grow if supported by further value addition.

He said there was need for increased investment in value addition technologies.

He said his ministry, that of Commerce Trade and Industry and other stakeholders recently validated an action plan for the leather industry which would ensure development and competitiveness of the leather sector.

Leather Industry Association of Zambia chairperson Chris Spyron said that the association would ensure that it developed a vibrant and self sustaining leather industry to meet stakeholders' aspirations in the value chain.

Mr Spyron said the association has for a long time been faced with a number of challenges such as high cost of technology and input, inadequate skills among small-holder farmers, unstable export prices and variation of quality of raw hide and skin.

"Despite the challenge, the leather sector was producing reasonable quality leather and leather goods which are competitive on the regional and international markets," he said.

And COMESA assistant Secretary General Stephen Karangizi said that in line with the leather and leather framework there was need to develop intra-regional leather trade by linking SMEs to regional markets.

He said that identification of business opportunities and possible partnership along the value chain was cardinal in growing of the sector.

Source : allafrica.com