Renewing export duties on raw hides hurts the national chain. Kenyan operators that met last Saturday for their annual Congress are sure of it.
This is too much
At the end of the meeting, the president of East Africa Hides and Skins, Karuri Ngige, expressed concerns and perplexity over the 80% duties imposed on imports. As reported by kenyanews.go.ke, entrepreneurs have expressed their openness in discussing the reduction of the duty by 20% that is imposed on the value of the exported leather, rather than its weight, so that the whole chain can take advantage.
In the hands of foreigners
The policies used till now, according to Karuri, haven’t helped local producers nearly as much as the government intended them to. The result is that “the 14 existing companies inside the country are completely in the hands of foreign owners, that decided to continue excluding local operators from the market”.
Raw hides rotting
Always according to East Africa Hides and Skins’ management, the high duties have had a negative impact until now: they have been an obstacle for the sale of local raw material to abroad markets, because they are forced to compete with other producers. The result is that material rots inside the warehouses.
