Zim leather producer aims to further tap into Chinese market

INSIDE a leather products workshop in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, workers are striving to meet their target of luxury leather products. From bags to belts, each item is meticulously crafted with attention to detail to preserve the qualities of the hide. In the shop at the front of the workshop, the scent of leather captivates the visitors, invoking a sense of originality and opulence.

“Once someone buys leather, you've got a lifetime. This is gold on its own. It's something you buy, and you never need to buy again. It's an investment,” said Grace Matsika, the marketing director of Good Hope Leather Products, a Zimbabwean company renowned for its exotic skin products.

The company offers a diverse range of leather goods, including bags, belts and wallets, made from cow skin as well as leather from wild animals such as crocodile, elephant, ostrich and hippo. It is licensed to sell the skins by the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Having operated for over three decades, the company is now seeking to spread its tentacles in China, one of the largest consumer markets in the world.

This year, Good Hope Leather Products will be exhibiting its finest products at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's largest importthemed international expo, which aims to open the Chinese domestic market to foreign countries. This year the CIIE is scheduled for November in Shanghai.

“We are looking forward to exhibiting at the Chinese expo, which is coming up very soon. We have a lot of new designs that we are bringing in. What we are looking forward to is not just selling, but also learning,” Matsika said.

Elliot Matsika, the managing director of Good Hope Leather Products, said the Chinese market offers room for growth to Zimbabwe's growing leather sector.

“We are so interested in the Chinese market. If you market there, you can get more business,” he told Xinhua.

He said production at the workshop is being scaled up to increase output.

Zimbabwe's leather sector benefits from the country's rich livestock and wildlife resources, as well as well-developed value chains.

ZimTrade, the national trade development body, has made notable strides in creating a conducive platform for the diversification of Zimbabwe's exports into the Chinese market.

Renwick Wachenyuka, an export promotion officer at ZimTrade, said Zimbabwean companies, which used to mainly export largely unprocessed hides, “have now started value addition”.

“They are now exporting finished leather products. We are actually a very important player within the Chinese market,” he said. “We are set to grow.”

Wachenyuka said Zimbabwe has the capacity to export a wide range of leather products, and measures have been taken to ensure sustained competitiveness in the global markets.

Trade between Zimbabwe and China has traditionally been dominated by minerals and agricultural products. Many stakeholders believe that value-added leather will be a potentially lucrative export product.