Leather Industry in Sudan:

Sudan obtains an animal wealth estimated at about 140 million heads of cattle, sheep, goats and camels, in addition to wild animals and other reptiles, that their skins are used in various leather industries. Leather products have been known in Sudan since ancient times as the excavations and inscriptions have shown in the archaeological sites in Musawarat and Bejrawiya, northern of Khartoum.  The leather slippers were known 5,000 years ago in the Kingdom of Merowe, and the leather tanning and leather products became often as part of Sudanese civilization. Leather was used in many aspects of life

The modern leather industry began in Sudan in the year 1945, after the opening of a tannery and a shoe factory in the capital Khartoum. Three large government tanneries were successively established in the sixties and seventies  of the last century, namely, White Nile Tannery, Khartoum Tannery and Gezira  Tannery. The Sudanese leather is distinguished by its high quality due to its durability, strong tissue and fibrous composition. Despite the many uses of leather in Sudan, the shoe industry, especially the traditional one, represents the largest consumer of more than any other leather industries. The leather industry in Sudan developed.

The project for development of the leather industry and its products in Sudan was started by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) during 1967 - 1990 and had a clear role in improving the quality of the produces raw hides, the establishment of several slaughterhouses throughout Sudan, the training of leather technicians and skinners, enhancement of the leather trade and exports according to the international standards and specifications. In addition to the presence of a number of training institutions and applied research in the field of leather and leather products, such as the National Center for Leather Improvement in Omdurman, the National Center for Leather Technology in Khartoum, the Technological Incubator for Development of Leather and Leather Products Industry in Khartoum North.

Economics of Leather Industry in Sudan:

The leather industries sector in Sudan can contribute to supplying the state treasury with about 400 million dollars annually, with the addressing of some obstacles in order to provide the ingredients of the industry, which are represented in the following:- 1/ The existence of huge livestock and the good quality of Sudanese leather. 2/  Continuous global demand, 3/ The increased need for meat consumption (internally and externally). 4/ The existence of a number of slaughter-houses, modern tanneries, and workshops for the manufacturing of leather products. 5/ The presence of a number of agencies spread in cities and villages in the country. 6/ The existence of many sources of leather production in Sudan from slaughter-houses and the seasonal Eid l-Adah slaughtering, which are estimated at between 1.5) to (3.2 million pieces. 7/ The existence of the institutions that observe and encourage the development of the leather sector. 8/ The availability of the laws, legislations and standards that control and regulate the leather trade.

The Challenges:-

However, despite the afore-mentioned components, the leather sector in Sudan has declined a lot in recent years, as it is only contributing about 60 million dollars annually, due to several factors, some of which are international and others internal, represented in the following: 1/ Stoppage of 70% of the operating tanneries(70%) of due to poor infrastructures, obvious neglect and the poor funding 2/ Absence or non-implementation of strategic plans in the leather industry had a direct impact on low productivity and consequently the absence from the global markets. 3/ the exorbitant fees and taxes led to the halt Many shoe factories and forcing their owners to turn them into small workshops. 4/ Around 90% of the raw materials for the leather industry are imported from abroad, a matter which in turn leads to an increase in the prices of the local products. 5/ The exportation of raw hides leads to loss of added value, a matter which affects the national economy and the increase of the unemployment rate. 6 / considerable quantities of leather products are smuggled to African countries where important manufacturing industries are carried out. 7 / The Weak global demand for leather due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which negatively affected the waste of large amounts of leather coinciding with the suspension of many tanneries during the past two years. 8/The Lack of equipped stores to store leather for several years until the global market recovers.

The Recommendations:-

1/ Reviewing the fees imposed on the production and manufacturing of meat and leather. 2/ Stopping the exportation of raw hides with the application of value-added chains in order to increase the export revenue to 400 million dollars for reviving the labor market through a strategic vision until the year 2027.  3/ Maximizing the use of institutions for the training skinners and developing the leather industry, spreading the culture of standardization and to take advantage of the skins of Eid Al-Adha and to reduce the waste.

Source: Sudan News Agency (SUNA)