Principal Secretary Siboniso Nkambule at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, said currently eSwatini was exporting almost all of its raw hides and skins in wet, salted form.
This translated to 12 times less than what the country could be generating domestically if it was processing the hides and skin to finished products.
This presented eSwatini Leather Value Chain Strategy with an opportunity for locals to manufacture leather footwear to export to the Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, which has a foot wear requirement of 365 million pairs per year.
“The supply of footwear in this region is currently at 156 million, with a shortfall of 209 million pairs,” the official said.