This situation is as explained in manuals. For years, in Tanzania the government has put duties and other forms of protectionary actions in place, in order to limit the outflow of raw materials for the tanning industry. The government has imposed, for years, heavy export taxation, to find out that such taxes were being avoided by the utilization of the black market. They also tried to strengthen the seven national tanneries, but that could only rely on 250,000 leathers per year, while demand for exports was of 3.1 million bovine leathers, 2.8 million goat leathers, and 550,000 sheep leathers. The result of this protectionism is a paradox, but it simply is a boomerang. According to national raw hides&skins suppliers tanneries aren’t able to process such high volume of leathers, and by adding heavy taxes on exports, it has become impossible for them to export the raw materials, which is rotting in the warehouses. “Over 1,138 tons of leather, for a value of 700,000 dollars are just sitting in the warehouse to deteriorate, while 300 tons have already been destroyed”, said local tanners to the local press.
Tanzania: protectionism is like a boomerang. Local tanneries can’t keep up, and raw material is left to rot in warehouses
