Osinbajo Launches Leather Policy In Nigeria

The VP launched National Leather & Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan in Abuja, targets $1 billion by 2025.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stated this during the formal launch and sensitisation workshop on the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan in Abuja, adding that with the right planning and strategy, optimising the value chain, these goals could become reality soon.

Being one of the highest producers of leather and finished leather products in Africa with a projected revenue of $1 billion by 2025, the industry could become a game-changer for Nigeria’s economy by improving the country’s foreign exchange earnings, boosting growth, and providing employment for young Nigerians, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He referenced a study carried out by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) which projected that the Nigerian leather industry has the potential of not only increasing its earnings by 70 per cent but also generating over $1 billion by 2025.

According to the vice president, “there is no question that properly organized, the leather and leather products industry could become one of the major items in Nigeria’s export basket.

‘‘The leather value chain is extensive. It includes animal husbandry, tanneries, finished leather products, and leather products marketing. The leather and leather products industry currently employs over 750,000 workers with about 500,000 workers in the finished leather goods sector. About 11 leather exporting companies have been active at the upstream end of the leather value chain.

“Also, the export of leather has grown steadily, reaching a peak of $117 million in 2018. Exports fell in 2020 largely due to the pandemic, but to date, are in the order of $272m.”

Mr Osinbajo explained that the country was yet to maximize its potential in the sector despite exporting millions of semi-finished and finished leather products to destinations including Italy, Spain, India, South Asia and China.

With the formal launch of the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan, the VP noted that government now has ‘‘a real opportunity to address specific challenges and shortcomings of the leather sector with pragmatic strategies to permanently resolve these issues for optimal productivity.”