The Sunday News
Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
THERE is a need for the country’s leather value chain players to work on improving animal husbandry practices so as to enable their products to meet the required international standards for exports, an expert said.
In its latest publication, ZimTrade quoted Mr Hans Akkerman, a senior expert at PUM’s leather and textile sector as having said there was a need for the country’s leather players to ensure the hides used in their production processes were of high quality.
He said this after conducting a scoping exercise of the Zimbabwe leather value chain. The exercise followed operationalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ZimTrade and PUM, which seeks to assist local companies enhance productivity as well as improve product quality. PUM is a Netherlands-based organisation of senior experts who provide factory floor interventions to companies in various sectors.
“There is a need to improve animal husbandry practices so that the hides collected are of a premium quality that can be used in the tanning of quality finished leather. Companies which intend to penetrate the export market need to improve their production processes so as to produce quality products,” said Mr Akkerman.
The scoping exercise also enabled the expert to ascertain the status of operations as well as identify areas for improvement to increase production efficiencies and competitiveness. During engagements with sector players, some of the manufacturers highlighted that the quality of their finished products was being compromised due to the low quality of locally produced finished leather.
According to the International Trade Centre, quality is the essential pre-requisite for gaining and maintaining sustained competitive advantage and market presence in an interconnected world where goods are sourced from around the world.
Trade Map statistics indicate a potential for exports of leather products such as handbags, travel ware, furniture and footwear with global import values increasing by seven percent from $123 billion in 2011 to $132 billion in 2015.
The Zimbabwe leather value chain players need to work together to ensure that products ultimately destined for export markets are known for quality and niche markets are established for them.
Mr Akkerman also advised leather manufacturers to invest in improving their production processes through acquiring new machinery and developing new or improved designs, master export marketing skills and develop export marketing plans to guide the companies in exports.
Meanwhile, ZimTrade has advised Zimbabwean exporters to familiarise themselves with the regulations and procedures governing the registration and eligibility of preferential trading under the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Trade Protocol. The protocol allows specific tariff benefits (zero or reduced duty rates) on qualifying goods traded between Sadc.
The trade promotion body also said over 40 companies successfully registered on United Nations (UN) suppliers’ list following the hosting of the United Nations Procurement Division (UNPD) vendor briefing and registration seminar held in Harare. The UNPD online registration matches vendors with UN agencies, which procure a wide range of products and services.
Speaking at the seminar, UNDP senior procurement officer Mr Edward Meck urged local companies to participate in United Nations tenders.
United Nations offers opportunities for companies to participate in tenders for the supply of a diverse range of goods and services. Products that are frequently outsourced include pharmaceuticals, building materials, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, telecommunication equipment, engineering and electronic equipment. Services that are on demand in UN mission fields include aircraft services, freight forwarding, construction, catering, as well as transport logistics.
According to Mr Meck, UN agencies procured a total of $17,5 billion in 2015 and of this only $76 million was supplied by Zimbabwean companies. He emphasised that the UN procurement process is fair and transparent; hence even the smallest of players should take the liberty to register as vendors and respond to tenders.
“Although the UN does the bulk of its mission work in Africa, most of the African tenders are won by companies from developed countries because African companies do not participate in the process. However, African companies are subcontracted as local suppliers. I encourage Zimbabwean companies to actively participate in this process,” he said. -@WilsonDakwa1
