Nigeria: Shoe cluster could export 1m pairs per week
08/07/2021
He was quoting the Nigeria Economic Summit Group’s 2019 macroeconomic outlook report, which also stated the leather processing sector employs over 750,000 and the leathergoods sector about 500,000.
Nigerian leather exports had grown steadily to reach $117 million in 2018 but fell in 2020 due to the pandemic, according to local press.
Mr Osinbajo said: “Anecdotal evidence suggests that the famous Aba shoe cluster in Abia informally exports almost a million pairs of shoes weekly, mostly to destinations within Africa.
“The industry is huge and its potential can only be imagined; so, there is no question that properly organised, the leather and leather products industry could become one of the major items in Nigeria’s export basket.”
The said the National Leather and Leather Products Policy could address the challenges with strategies to resolve the issues. “A major part of that effort is improving access to credit for leather products manufacturers,” he said.
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