The signing of phase 1 of a trade treaty in Washington on January 13 is expected to end the tariff wars between China and US. The improved trade relations are expected to translate into better export opportunities for Africa. Leather has been one of the prominent export commodities from Kenya with China as the leading leather importer. However, the trade tensions between China and US led to a massive fall in the exports. Kenya’s earnings from leather exports fell by 28.8 percent between January to September last year.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that the fall in exports of hides and skins has led to bleak prospects for livestock farmers. The labour intensive sector also had generated jobs across all value chains for many. The fall in demand has led to huge job losses The rising use of synthetic leather also led to a drop in demand. Kenyan leather also started facing competition from superior quality leather from Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burundi. In a bid to improve the quality, Kenyan Government has started construction of a common-leather facility that will improve processing to high-quality products in Nairobi.
